Buffet Crampon Germany mourns the loss of the long-standing owner of the former Wenzel Meinl GmbH and former shareholder of Buffet Crampon Gerhard A. Meinl who passed away on February 26 in Geretsried, Germany at the age of 68. The entrepreneur was one of the world’s leading figures in the field of instrument manufacturing, particularly in the brass instrument scene, through the expansion of the ‘Melton Meinl Weston’ and ‘B&S Markneukirchen’ brands.
Seven generations of the Meinl family had shaped the manufacture of metal instruments, first in the Sudetenland and then, after 1945, in Geretsried in Upper Bavaria. Gerhard A. Meinl, having completed his law studies and training as a metal instrument maker, took over the family business in 1984, where the ‘Melton Meinl Weston’ brand tubas have always been made.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, ‘B&S Markneukirchen’ moved under the umbrella of the Geretsried-based company under his leadership. In 1994, Gerhard A. Meinl opened Europe’s most modern factory for brass instruments in Markneukirchen – a center of excellence in the art of musical instrument making and home to the brands B&S, J. Scherzer, and Hans Hoyer. Later, the brands Besson and Antoine Courtois were added. In 2012, the French company Buffet Crampon bought B&S GmbH and Gerhard A. Meinl remained a shareholder until recently.
In addition to his extensive political activities and voluntary work in numerous charitable associations and institutions, Gerhard A. Meinl was the first chairman of the German Musical Instrument Manufacturers Association for more than a quarter of a century, founded the German Tuba Forum and was a member of the board of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association (ITEA).