Sabian Timeline
1968: Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada becomes home of a new Zildjian factory - AZCO1 (A. Zildjian COmpany). This new factory costs $180,000, and measures 6,000 square feet (557 square meters). Capital budget is $200,000.3 They produce the AZCO series there, beginning March 1,1 and projects the first cymbals will ship on May 15.2 The company starts with 7 workers.3 Zildjian initially expects as many as 20 employees to be on staff by Spring, but this doesn't come to fruition. Cymbal blanks are shipped to Meductic from the company's factory in the U.S.A. An expansion of the AZCO facility is announced, where blanks will start being produced in late 1968 or early 1969.3 (An article from 1971 mentions an expansion worth $80,000 will take place later that year. It is unknown whether this is another expansion, or that the aforementioned one didn't take place. This article also mentions that blanks are still being imported from the U.S.A.)5
This N.B. location is chosen for a few of reasons: Robert "Bob" / R.Z." Zildjian is familiar with the area from many hunting and fishing trips over a 20 year time period. One-third of the capital cost is being underwritten by the Canadian federal government under the designated area program. Tariffs go down from 17.5% to 15% on materials imported to Canada from the U.S.A., positively impacting the profit margin. Also, moving Canadian-produced goods among Commonwealth countries have lower tariffs than goods made in the U.S.A. 2
Avedis Zildjian is against building a second Zildjian factory. But Bob ensures him it will be successful, and if it isn't, he will buy it for $100,000.14
1972: Azco Ltd. employs between 12-15 people. It puts about $12,000 to $15,000 a month into the local economy.4
1973 AZCO ad (The Telegraph-Journal)
1975: K. Zildjian series starts production in Meductic.
1977: Avedis Zildjian appoints oldest son, Armand, as the new President of the Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Company.
1979: Avedis Zildjian dies. Also this year, the Istanbul factory closed, Gabe Zilcan moves to Canada to work at AZCO. Zilcan oversees production and quality control for Sabian later on.6
1981: Armand and Robert Zildjian clash over control of the Zildjian Co. Armand buys out Robert's interests in Zildjian, while Robert receives the subsidiairies in Canada and Switzerland.11 (Some sources say Robert got the Meductic factory in the agreement, while one says he bought it for $100,000, as per the 1968 agreement with Avedis.)15 On December 31, Robert takes over the facility in Meductic. He rebrands it - Sabian - from letters of his children's names: SAlly, Wilson (BIll), and ANdy.15
1982: 1st availability (except the U.S.A.) The first two lines are AA and HH. The Sabian Ltd. factory is 12,000 square feet (1115 square meters).26 There are 38 workers in Meductic, along with another 10 in England, 14 in Italy, and 3 in Switzerland. Sabian's facility has the ability to store 60,000 cymbals, but hasn't been able to hold an inventory above 25,000, With U.S. sales prohibited until the following year, the company works hard to expand in Europe and Japan.8
Oct. '82 ad "NOT AVAILABLE IN U.S.A"
1983: 1st U.S.A. industry appearance at Summer NAMM that year. Sales for the year - 80,000.13 First time the company turned a profit - $1,750.20
Jan. '83 ad "NOW AVAILABLE IN U.S.A"
1983 magazine ad
1983 ad
1984: Sabian's revenue is $2 million (Canadian).12
1985: Cymbal sales - 40,000.15 Former Zildjian Quality Assurance Manager Daniel "Dan" Barker joins the company as vice-president.17 18 He will go on to serve as General Manager of Alden Music Distributors, which Sabian buys this same year.19
1986: Sabian enters into a partnership with Hohner Inc., for the purpose of distributing their products. Sonor's products will be distributed as well. The new group is known as H.S.S. - Hohner Sonor Sabian. In addition, products by Vic Firth, Calato, Pro-Mark, and Remo are to be included in the distribution agreement. Sabian's founder receives the first ever "Business of the Year" award from the Carleton Regional Development Commission (New Brunswick). Bob Zildjian's wife, Willi, is presented a bouquet of roses.7
1987: Revenues are 5 million dollars, and about a 25% market share.10 There are 40 employees.24
1988: H.S.S. completes expansion of its warehouse facility in Ashland, Virginia, U.S.A..
1989: Sales are about 200,000 a year at this point, making Sabian the no. 2 cymbal manufacturer in the world. 65 employees are in Meductic, working 5 days a week, 2 shifts a day. There are another roughly 15 people in sales offices in North America and Europe.9 Andy Zildjian promoted to the position of Manager of Sales, Promotion, and Artist Relations at the company's USA (East Coast) office/depot in Hanover, Massachusets, U.S.A.. New office facility opens next to the factory.
1990: Sabian receives the New Brunswick Award of Marketing Excellence by Premier Frank McKenna.25
1992: Sales are sluggish, due to a North American recession, but are up in Europe, especially Germany, where sales double. Sales in Asia also do well. Over 500 endorsers are using Sabians.17
1994: Sabian's payroll includes 80 people, with close to 50 employed at the Meductic factory. The remainder of employees are in service offices in Massachusetts, Los Angeles, and Europe, as well as Asia.13
1995: $3.1 million Dollar expansion is announced. It turns at 1,000 square meter building into a 2,700 square meter one. 15 new jobs to be added. Sabian Ltd. will receive $367, 857 under the Canada/New Brunswick Cooperation Agreement on Economic Diversification and $500,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.26
1996: Sabian's worth is an estimated 50 million (U.S.) Dollars wholesale, with about $20 million in sales annually. 12 Sells ~ 40,000 cymbals a month.15 Over 2,000 cymbals are produced daily.16 The factory is now 2,700sq meters.16 There are 75 full-time employees in Meductic, with a dozen or so spread around the world.15
2000: Sabian purchases a 5,000 square foot building in an industrial park for distribution purposes. The site is chosen due to its close proximity to Meductic.27 Sabian (under the name CYMCO) had originally planned to use this facility to produce cymbals (Tosco), but had backed away from the deal in 1998.28 At least 135 people are Sabian employees in New Brunswick.29
2004: 140 employees produce more than 90,000 units each year. Sales are $30 - $35 million. 17
2005: Daniel Barker, company president and CEO is honored by Atlantic Business Magazine as one of its top 50 CEOs of Atlantic Canada.30
2006: More than 150 employees, production is 1.2 million annually, and more than 1,500 types.20
2007: Nearly 200 employees, and almost 900,000 cymbals produced a year.31
2008: In December, Wilson "Bill" Zildjian wins lawsuit over father Robert, sister Sally and brother Andy. Bill claimed, as a stockholder, he was owed dividends. The other three claimed that he was not owed, because he was given gifts. The gifts in question was $290,000 given by Bob and Sabian from 2000 - 2006. Bill is awarded over $500,000, and with interest on the unpaid dividends, the total is closer to $750,000. Bill had been let go by the company in September.21
Also in December, Sabian cuts 8 permanent jobs, and lays off another 8 employees. This is due to the economic downturn in the U.S.A. This leaves 105 employed at Sabian's Meductic factory. The company expects to cut cymbal production to 9,000 a week in 2009, down from 13,000 - 15,000 a week in 2008.32
2010: Sabian Ltd. purchases Gon Bops Inc., a maker of Latin percussion instruments, for an undisclosed amount from DW Drums.33
Sabian pledges to donate $2,000 from the sale of the buried Vault Artisan cymbals to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.34
Robert Zildjian receives honorary degree from University of New Brunswick Saint John.35
2011: A Chinese distribution deal is signed with Great Wall Audio / Musical Instruments Company.36
2012: To commemorate the their 30th anniversary, a museum is opened at the factory. It will be open year-round.37
2013: Robert "Bob" / "R.Z." Zildjian passes away from cancer on March 28, at the age of 89, at his home in Brunswick, Maine. He is survived by his wife Willi, his three children, and 8 grandchildren.22
2014: Sabian buys drum hardware manufacturer in Nova Scotia - Billdiddit - for an undisclosed sum.38
2015: Sabian begins direct distribution to the United States.41
2016: The company has around 2,000 endorsers. It has around 100 employees.23
Sources:
1 Frank Withers, "Cymbal Plant Nearly Ready", The Daily Gleaner, February 16, 1968, pg. 1
2 "Beat of the Beatles sounds sweet success: U.S. cymbal maker opening plant in N.B.", The Globe and Mail, April 5, 1968, pg. 19
3 "Meductic Cymbal Firm Announces Expansion", The Daily Gleaner, December 12, 1968, pg. 3
4 "Cymbal Manufacturer Bolsters Meductic Economy", The Telegraph-Journal and The Evening Times-Globe", February 20, 1972, pg. 33
5 "N.B. Cymbal Factory Important Musicians Throughout World", The Moncton Transcript, January 11, 1971, pg. 19
6 Mark Tunney, "Will Lionel Ritchie Play Meductic? - Top Musicians Line Up To Visit N.B. Cymbal Plant", The Telegraph-Journal, May 17, 1986, pg.34
7 Betty Pratt, "Carleton Development Commission Meets - Sabian Ltd. Named Business Of Year", The Daily Gleaner, May 29, 1986, pg.8
8 "Ringo Starr taps on cymbals made in N.B.", The Expositor, September 17, 1982, pg.39
9 Steve McLeod, "N.B. cymbal factory a magnet for musicians", The Telegraph-Journal, December 22, 1989, pg. 12
10 Davis Bushnell, "Zildjian: the ring of history", The Boston Globe, February 29, 1988, pg. 21
11 "Heirs End Cymbal Company Feud", The Blade, December 13, 1981, pg. 21
12 Gayle McDonald, "Managing", The Globe and Mail, April 15, 1996, pg. B8
13 Allison Finnamore, "Sabian Hits Right Note", The Daily Gleaner, October 25, 1994, pg. 41
14 Michael Woloschuk, "The Great Family Secret", The New Brunswick Reader, June 27, 1996, pg. 11
15 Michael Woloschuk, "The Great Family Secret", The New Brunswick Reader, June 27, 1996, pg. 12
16 Michael Woloschuk, "The Great Family Secret", The New Brunswick Reader, June 27, 1996, pg. 14
17 Duane Cummings, "Sabian Reports Slight Growth", The Daily Gleaner, January 28, 1992, pg. 5
17 Gordon Pitts, "Cymbal company drums up A-list clientele", The Globe and Mail, November 15, 2004, pg. 5
18 Cliff Vanderlinden, "A bang up business", National Post, March 28, 2005, pg. 51
19 "Dan Barker becomes President/CEO of EMD Music, Inc.", emdmusic.com, October 11, 2007
20 Sharda Prashad, "Pure cymbal-ism", The Toronto Star, March 27, 2006, pg. C1
21 Don MacPherson, "Zildjian son wins lawsuit against family", The Daily Gleaner, December 23, 2008, pg. A3
22 Valerie J. Nelson, "Robert Zildjian Founder of noted cymbal maker Sabian", The Los Angeles Times, April 5, 2013, pg. 16
23 Lori Gallagher, "Sabian Helps Famous Drummers Rock", Telegraph Journal, July 5, 2016, pg. D1
24 "Percussionists Come To Sabian", Saint John Times Globe, February 26, 1987, pg. 48
25 "Meductic Firm Honored", The Daily Gleaner, October 17, 1990, pg. 12
26 Allyson Vaughan, "Sabian Ltd. announces $3.1-million expansion", Telegraph Journal, January 31, 1995, pg. 17
26 Tracey Cole, "Sabian Cymbals Officially Opens Expanded Plant", The Daily Gleaner, July 9, 1996, pg. 5
27 Wayne L. Brown, "2 new firms to open in Houlton park", The Bangor Daily News, April 27, 2000, pg. 5
28 Wayne Brown, "Cymbal manufacturer drops Houlton project", The Bangor Daily News, October 28, 1998, pg. 4
29 Tali Folkins, "Proactive marketing helps cymbal maker regain the beat", Saint John Telegraph Journal, November 28, 2002, pg. D2
30 The Daily Gleaner, May 23, 2005, pg. 8
31 Roger Levesque, "Canadian company engineers sound of music", Edmonton Journal, June 15, 2002, pg. G6
32 Don MacPherson, "Sabian cuts jobs", The Daily Gleaner, December 24, 2008, pg. A3
33 Nicole Visschedyk, "Sabian acquires Latin percussion instrument maker", Telegraph Journal, June 11, 2010, pg. B1
34 Laverne Stewart, "Sabian to donate proceeds from sale of cymbals to charity", The Daily Gleaner, March 5, 2010, pg. C1
35 "Sabian cymbals founder to receive honourary degree from UNB", The Times Transcript, May 19, 2010, pg. C2
36 "Sabian inks cymbal deal with Chinese distributor", Telegraph Journal, September 16, 2011, pg. B3
37 Bugle-Observer Staff, "Sabian opens museum to celebrate 30-year-history", Bugle-Observer, November 16, 2012, pg. D1
38 Shawn Berry, "Sabian buys company in N.S.", The Times Transcript, January 31, 2014, pg. C2
41 The Daily Gleaner Staff, "Sabian LTD. to sell its cymbals directly to the U.S.", The Daily Gleaner, March 12, 2015, pg. D4
