Manuel Rodriguez plans Spanish manufacturing increase

Spanish classical guitar specialist Manuel Rodriguez III has been telling CNN that he is bringing guitar production back from China to Spain.

The eponymous boss told the US news network the majority of the firm’s  annual output of 15,000 guitars is produced in China, where they are assembled in one month and sold for around $200 each.

In addition, 5,000 high-end guitars, which can sell for up to $20,000 each are also made in Spain, crafted from a variety of woods such as African ebony, Canadian cedar and Indian rosewood.

“A $20,000 guitar would take about three to four months, so you put so much passion, love in that instrument you feel ashamed to sell it,” says Manuel Rodriguez, the third generation owner of the company.

And now he plans to bring the production of its low-price guitars back from China to Spain.

“People will buy more of our instruments made in Spain than made in China,” says Rodriguez. “In China the labour is going up, so it’s going be difficult to compete and I think that’s our next challenge is to express and to show the Spanish guitar is back in Spain.”

More details on the specific volume of guitars the firm intends to manufacture in Spain will be announced shortly.