Quality, Craftsmanship, and Detail

A.R. Schopp’s Sons has been crafting organ pipe components ever since the era of silent movies. Today, we are the largest supplier of organ pipes in the United States. Four generations of the Schopp family have been involved in our 121 years of operation. Since 1968, our mechanical facilities and staff have grown more than five-fold, with fifty skilled artisans working today in our state-of-the-art shop. With a reputation built on a relentless effort to manufacture pipes of the highest quality, A.R. Schopp’s Sons is the supplier of choice for organ builders throughout the United States.

Who Was A.R. Schopp?

August Reinhart Schopp was born in Bad Orb, Germany in 1869. After emigrating to the United States in 1884, he began working for the Roosevelt Organ Company in New York City, where he learned the trade of pipe maker. He subsequently worked for several other east coast organ building firms, including Haskell, Hook & Hastings, Jardine, and Farrand & Votey. In 1898, Schopp and Leonard Gutfleisch left Farrand & Votey and formed the partnership of Gutfleisch & Schopp in Roselle, New Jersey. Their company immediately began supplying quality pipework to the organ industry.

Shortly after the turn of the century, Gutfleisch & Schopp moved to Alliance, Ohio, which was surrounded at the time by several emerging organ builders: Schantz, Holtkamp, Hillgreen-Lane, Page, and others. In later years, Schopp was a major supplier of pipes to M.P. Moller and Aeolian-Skinner.

In 1947, the Gutfleisch & Schopp partnership was dissolved, and the firm of A.R. Schopp’s Sons, Inc. was formed by sons Robert and Harvey Schopp. August Schopp continued to work six days a week in the firm he helped found. Upon his death in 1954 at age 85, he was thought to be the oldest active pipe maker in America.

Who We Are Today

A.R. Schopp’s Sons continues to produce fine organ pipes and more, much as pipe maker August Schopp did a century ago.

In addition to producing stops traditionally found in most pipe organs, uncommon stops have also become common for the firm, including trompettes-en-chamade, orchestral reeds, full-length 32-foot reeds, and open diapasons. Also, our flue and reed pipes are found in many significant instruments throughout the country.

Our market scope has expanded internationally to countries such as Australia, Japan, and England, to name but a few. In addition to organ pipes, Schopp’s product line has expanded to include all other pipe organ components, including reservoirs, swell shades, windchests, casework, wood stops, and custom tooling expertly made by hand and custom made to order.

In recent years, the company has consolidated its staff into one 42,000-square-foot, single-level factory building, more than double the size of the old facility. This permits the firm to increase its staff, accelerate delivery time, and grow its product line. Such resultant efficiency means more savings for the firm’s customers.