Jim Hockenberger refers to a keyboard manufacturer in Long Eaton,
England.  This firm was Herrburger Brooks Ltd.  Herrburger Brooks
was an amalgamation of the companies of Henry Brooks, founded in
London in 1810, and Josef Herrburger, who took over his
father-in-law Jean Schwander's business which had been founded in
Paris in 1844 to make the Schwander action.

Herrburger and Brooks amalgamated in 1920 and were based in Paris
until 1953 when they moved to Long Eaton, just outside Nottingham.
They became the largest manufacturer of piano actions and keyboards
in Europe and supplied most of the major piano manufacturers.
Unfortunately Herrburger Brooks went into receivership in 1998 after
a number of changes of ownership.  Kimball had bought the company in
1965 and sold it to Harmony Pianos of Hong Kong in 1996.

I was lucky enough to visit the factory in the 1980s and saw the
manufacture of all action parts and keyboards.  I remember a very
large timber yard where the stock for keyboards was being air seasoned.
We were told that the wood was stored for twenty years prior to use to
ensure ultimate stability.

One area we were not permitted to see was the new automated action
centreing process.  They had invented a machine that automatically
fitted the bushing cloth into the action parts, thus reducing labour
costs substantially.

Nicholas Simons, GB