W. Lufkin
factory manager
treasurer
Biography
W. Lufkin, nephew of William Wallace Kimball, was placed in charge of Kimball's manufacturing department even though he had never before been inside a piano or organ factory. Kimball believed a man trained only at the bench or desk would have too narrow a vision for the scale of factory he envisioned. Lufkin proved equal to the task, overseeing production that grew from the first 5,000 pianos to 30,000 instruments per year, including church organs, player-piano mechanisms, and music rolls, all made in the Kimball factories. After Kimball's death in 1904, Lufkin became treasurer of the reorganized corporation.
Highlights
- William Wallace Kimball's nephew, put in charge of manufacturing despite never having been inside a piano or organ factory
- Grew output from the first 5,000 pianos made under him to 30,000 instruments a year
- Became treasurer of the Kimball corporation after Kimball's death
Source
Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 343.
Public domain.