Grundorf Corporation, parent company of Grund Audio Design, is pleased to announce it is celebrating its 30th anniversary. From humble beginnings in the family garage, Grundorf Corporation has evolved into an internationally recognized organization whose products have become an integral part of the livelihoods of musicians, audio professionals, and technology managers everywhere.
Company principals Susan and Frank Grund started the business in their garage in July of 1984 after deciding to cease touring with their band. “We started out building speaker cabinets and cases for our musician friends who saw the products we had built for use in our own band,” recalls Frank Grund, President of Grundorf Corporation. “A local music store saw our products and said if we put a name on them he would sell them in his store—and that was our start. Initially, the products were sold by word of mouth and, within a few years, we had expanded to nationwide distribution. By 1990, we had clearly outgrown our garage, so we purchased the building that, to this day, houses our current manufacturing operation.”
Being known among his musician friends as the “audio guy,” Frank Grund always had a passion for loudspeaker design, and early on, had built the band’s PA cabinets. This early experience served as the foundation for Grund Audio Design’s loudspeaker offerings, which today encompasses the Gala, GT, GQ, Altar Clarity, ACX, UB (Under Balcony), VIP, GP,ST, and XT series product lines. “Our loudspeaker systems have evolved from ‘me too’ carpet covered PA cabinets to unique models researched and developed by Frank for specific applications,” says Susan Grund, Grundorf Corporations’ Vice President. “Today, we offer two durable paint finishes for our wood loudspeaker enclosures—a durable spatter paint finish and our tough Tour Coat™ finish. In addition to enclosures manufactured with wood, we also offer injection molded loudspeaker designs.”
As an equipment case manufacturer, Grundorf cases got its start by replicating the case Susan and Frank made for Susan’s keyboard. “Our earliest rendition was a case for my keyboard,” recalls Susan. “It was initially made with blue indoor/outdoor carpet. When we started to build cases professionally, we switched to the black and gray carpet, which is still available today. Since those early days, we’ve expanded our case offerings to include the touring ABS finished flight style cases as well as our lightweight ABS molded plastic cases.”
“We are very focused on developing the right tool for the job,” says Frank Grund, president of Grundorf Corporation. We offer lightweight, highly portable injection molded enclosures specifically designed for portable PA use, be it a church, school, or wedding band. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we offer line array technology for both touring and fixed installation, dedicated monitor systems, and a variety of point source loudspeaker designs at a variety of price points that are well suited to a wide range of applications.”
Frank Grund offered his perspective on the company’s accomplishments, “Today’s customers are looking for more than just an off-the-shelf product. They are looking for products that provide specific solutions to the challenges they encounter in their day-to-day working lives. Grundorf cases fill that need with our in-house custom designed products that are proudly made in the USA. We custom build cases that, as an example, make it easy for technology managers in hotels and convention centers to easily transport the microphones, mixer, amplification, and related accessories from one meeting or presentation space to another. Similarly, we have cases that make it easy to safely transport guitars, keyboards, lighting equipment, and just about anything else a musician or audio professional is likely to use in his work.”
Reflecting on where they’ve been as a company and where they believe they are headed, Frank Grund offered these parting thoughts, “To this day, we are still driven by an entrepreneurial spirit that helps us identify industry trends and to seek out and develop new, innovative products for our industry. At the end of the day, Susan and I genuinely believe we offer a diverse mix of unique products that are recognized for their innovative designs, superior quality, and great value—and that’s what it’s all about.”
