Roland Corporation closes its plant in Acquaviva

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Roland Corporation closes its plant in Acquaviva

Postby Mike Bracchi » 07 Nov 2013 17:18

Roland factory in Italy is in the hands of the Receivers.

Roland Europe SpA designs, manufactures, and markets electronic instruments including keyboards (BK range), accordions, and electronic pianos with built-in musical generation, MIDI keyboards, samplers, sound modules, classic organs, digital pianos, amplifiers, and musical software. It was formerly known as Societa Industrie Elettroniche and changed its name to Roland Europe SpA in 1988.

The factory in ACQUAVIVA PICENA closes with the loss of 150 jobs ... production will be moved to the "East", which probably means China.

ACQUAVIVA PICENA - La Roland Corporation Giappone nel consiglio di amministrazione di oggi ha deliberato la messa in liquidazione della Roland Europe Spa di Acquaviva Picena, di cui è proprietario al cento per cento. Le motivazioni di tale difficile decisione sono dovute ad una drastica riduzione dei costi e necessaria riorganizzazione a causa di un bilancio negativo della multinazionale che perdura da alcuni anni. Nel suo piano di ristrutturazione a medio termine prevede di aumentare l'efficienza produttiva centralizzando quest'ultima in Oriente. La notizia sicuramente appesantisce una già difficile situazione occupazionale del Piceno in quanto presso gli stabilimenti di Acquaviva della Roland lavorano attualmente 150 dipendenti.


Acquaviva - The Roland Corporation in Japan board of directors today approved the liquidation of Roland Europe Spa in Acquaviva, he owns one hundred percent. The reasons for this decision are difficult due to a drastic reduction of costs and necessary reorganization due to a negative balance of the multinational that has lasted for several years. In its restructuring plan in the medium-term plan to increase production efficiency by centralizing it in the East. The news certainly weigh down an already difficult employment situation of the Piceno as at the premises of Acquaviva Roland 150 employees currently work.




This factory is where Roland manufactured the V-Accordion range ... another blow to the Italian music manufacturing industry.

Mike
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Re: Roland Corporation closes its plant in Acquaviva

Postby Mike Bracchi » 08 Nov 2013 18:42

Translated From an Article in the Italian Newspaper: L’Osservatore

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Mass in liquidation within five months for the Roland Musical Instruments in Acquaviva, the facility in which they work to date more than 150 people, for the design and partial production of musical instruments. This was announced on Wednesday, President Alfredo Maroni to employees, during a meeting which took place at around 14, following a board of directors of the parent company in Japan, which had taken place a few hours before.

Closes in this way adventure began in 1988 with the purchase by the Japanese of the establishment of Siel (Society electronics industry), a company founded in 1976 by a group of former employees of the Farfisa. In addition to musical instruments division, which is the main activity of Roland, will instead continue to operate the Roland Digital Group, which belongs to the same Japanese multinational, but deals instead of trade and servicing of printers, plotters and machinery for cutting skins, employs thirty people, and operates in relationship with three or four countries of Eastern Europe and France.

The Roland MI has had a history of growth and great success in these twenty-five years, until peaks of 110 billion lire in sales, with profits of around 10 billion. The latter years of the global crisis have not seen the budget of Roland MI at a loss: there has been a draw in 2012, and there are predictions of a small profit in 2013. The turnover in recent years, it was around 24 million euro. Three years ago, however, there had been a reduction in the workforce of 40 units.
The expansion of Roland, in terms of turnover and assumptions, however, lasted until 2002. The main pride of the plant was the invention, design and production of electronic accordion, the star of a special festival, held for seven years in Rome, the last time a few days ago. The establishment of Acquaviva is still the only one in the world to produce this tool.

The problem, as we see, is not so much the establishment of Acquaviva, as the Japanese parent company, which at the moment seems to focus more on countries like China and Indonesia, as well as in 1988 had focused on Italy. Moreover, another of acquisitions over the years has been that of Rodgers, an American company that produces large church organs.
The next step will be a meeting between senior management and unions to agree on the modalities of liquidation, and for social safety nets for workers. But everything, as you understand, it is yet to be agreed. Someone was hoping for a new restructuring as it was three years ago, but it did not happen. And someone even suggests the creation of a new company from the ashes of the old, as happened in 1976.

In the Marche region, however, is very strong the tradition of the production of musical instruments, not only with accordions in Castelfidardo, but also in Osimo, where it operates another Japanese multinational, the Korg, landed in the region in circumstances similar to those of Acquaviva .


According to sources within the company will be managed by a curator from 22 November. Estimates of the number of workers approaching retirement

ROLAND:

Acquaviva - Waiting for the first informal meeting between ownership and social partners set for Monday, November 11 at 15:30, they begin to circulate rumours about what could be the stages of liquidation of Roland Europe of Acquaviva.

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Sources inside the company say that the liquidator will begin its work on Friday 22 or Saturday, November 23. The President Maroni, for its part, neither confirmed nor denied: "It is not certain that that is the date, but we say that almost certainly will be by the end of the month."
The second "voice" of the number of workers close to retirement. Even this is not an official version. According to the same company sources, it would be about thirty people, about 150 employees. The President Maroni, however, about a dozen cases, barely. "The law Fornero has extended the terms for access to the pension," he says, "And this complicates things."

Who still has not collected information on the case Roland is instead the provincial president of Confindustria Bucciarelli Bruno: "I know nothing of the meeting of Monday, but let's say that by Confindustria is the maximum support to the company."

Finally, a survey on the recent management: since the Japanese arrived in Acquaviva in 1988, the president was Carlo Lucarelli, then replaced for less than a year since Bruno Barbini Roland Italy, which was replaced by a Japanese in the period 2004/2009, while Maroni been in office since January 1, 2010, after joining the Siel in 1979, the company detected precisely by Roland few years later.

"In recent years we have defended ourselves with new products that the market has appreciated in terms of purchases," said Maroni, "For example, the electronic accordion, which we have presented the third version a few months ago at the Frankfurt fair, or the new keyboard BK9. " As reported in recent days, the gain should be around 2,013 million euro.
But the margins that should be insured by a transfer of the activity in China or Indonesia, as well as has been said, are predictably higher.
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Re: Roland Corporation closes its plant in Acquaviva

Postby Mike Bracchi » 08 Nov 2013 18:55

Owners of the BK-9 and BK-7 can relax, Roland will be transferring production elsewhere ....

[pdfview]http://www.roland.com/ir/pdf/2013/20131108_3.pdf[/pdfview]
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Re: Roland Corporation closes its plant in Acquaviva

Postby Mike Bracchi » 11 Nov 2013 00:57

This is a copy of an email sent to a V-Accordion Dealer in The US.

Dear Friends,

You are all aware of the closing of our factory in Italy where the V-Accordions are currently produced. We here at Roland US feel deeply for our colleagues who might be affected.

The purpose of this email is to provide you with the relevant facts related to this closing. This will better prepare you to discuss this situation with your present and future customers, and also provide you a better idea as how this may effect your planning. Here are the most relevant questions being asked us:

Q. When will the factory actually close.
A. The current plan is for the factory to remain open and active through March, 2014.

Q: Will production continue on the current products produced at Roland Europe?
A: Yes. Production will continue at Roland Europe for the V-Accordion and other instruments until March, 2014. After that time, production of the V-Accordion will be transferred to an appropriate facility within the Roland family.

Q: Will R&D continue on the V-Accordion?
A: Yes. R&D will continue.

Q: Will product support and parts availability be affected?
A: No. Product support will continue and adequate parts supply is already being planned to support the current products as usual. Roland US support of the V-Accordion is not affected by this closing.

Please be assured that Roland Corporation world-wide and Roland US remain committed to this product category. We appreciate your efforts on our behalf and look forward to continuing our work with you with these exciting instruments!

Should you have other concerns please feel free to contact me directly at my number below.

Sincerely,

Bill

Bill Erlandson
National Sales Manager
Pianos and V-Accordions
ROLAND CORPORATION U.S.
5100 South Eastern Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90040


So it looks like the only people this closure will effect are Roland work force at the factory and the local community.
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Re: Roland Corporation closes its plant in Acquaviva

Postby Mike Bracchi » 16 Nov 2013 15:55

The Roland factory closing has hit the Italian national press .....

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This is what Gypsy King, the Manager, of R&D Roland Europe Support Department at the closing plant had to say about the article ....

Thank to the newspaper “La Repubblica” and in particular the journalist Lucio Cillis, for the beautiful article published today.
Whichever way it goes this adventure, I'm happy because the love and passion given in these years will live through our products.

The journalist Lucio Cillis was able to catch the deep meaning of our work.





Ringrazio il giornale “La Repubblica” ed in particolare il giornalista Lucio Cillis, per il bellissimo articolo pubblicato oggi.
Comunque vada questa avventura, sono felice perchè l’amore e passione dati in questi anni di attività vivranno attraverso i nostri prodotti.

Il giornalista Lucio Cillis è riuscito a cogliere il senso profondo del nostro lavoro.


If you want to give your support to the Roland work force they now have a facebook page where you can wish them luck for the future.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/rolandeuropesupport/


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Re: Roland Corporation closes its plant in Acquaviva

Postby Fred » 16 Nov 2013 16:27

Hi Mike

Thanks for the update, I'm sure many Roland use will now feel a bit more comfortable.

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Re: Roland Corporation closes its plant in Acquaviva

Postby VAL7JEAN » 12 Jun 2015 15:48

How is Roland doing now in 2015?
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