BY URSULA MILLER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Baldwin Piano & Organ is leaving its dated headquarters building in Loveland for new space at the Governors Pointe Office Park in Deerfield Township.
The move, scheduled for November, will include all of the piano maker's 115 home-office employees. It doesn't affect Baldwin's manufacturing operations, which are handled at plants in Arkansas, Mississippi and Mexico.
In addition to corporate staff, Baldwin's home-office employees include research and development personnel and a wholly owned retail sales showroom.
Lease expiring
Baldwin has been at 422 Wards Corner Road in Loveland since 1986, the year the 136-year-old company went public. The move has been timed to coincide with the expiration of Baldwin's lease on the concrete-block building.
Baldwin Chief Executive Officer Karen L. Hendricks said the new locale will provide a "more efficient and state-of-the-art work environment and numerous amenities unavailable" at the Wards Corner site.
Employees will actually work out of three separate locations within the Governors Pointe complex to accommodate the needs of each major home-office function now performed under one roof. "The three sites are close enough so that all Baldwin employees can easily attend joint staff meetings and work together," Ms. Hendricks said. "At the same time, each headquarters group will have the advantage of working in an optimal setting for its unique responsibilities."
Baldwin will also use about a third less space at Governors Pointe. Rent will remain about the same.
Added amenities
Some of the amenities and services to be available to Baldwin employees at Governors Pointe include child care and gym facilities and restaurants.
Baldwin employs about 1,500 total. Baldwin's acoustic piano brands include Baldwin, Chickering and Wurlitzer.
The company also provides consumer financing for its pianos through its wholly owned Keyboard Acceptance Corp. subsidiary. Baldwin also has a contract electronics business that makes printed circuit boards for a variety of original equipment manufacturers in the United States.
