More info on Hailun from Piano Book

Don't know why my version of the Piano Book does not have any information on Hailun when I bought it last year. But since have the online version, so shall post it here for my reference. For more information, please refer to the online version which is here http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8ffb87c#/e8ffb87c/161

HAILUN
"Ningbo Hailun began making piano parts and components in 1986 under the Ningbo Piano Parts Factory name, and began assembling entire pianos in 1995. Its assembly facility converted to a full-scale piano-manufacturing facility in 2000. The company offers a full line of grands and uprights in its designer Art Case Collection, as well as traditional styles and finishes. In addition to making pianos under the Hailun name, it also make the Wendl and Lung brand for distribution throughout Europe and a few pianos stores in U.S. The company also makes pianos and components under contract for several other manufacturers and distributors.

The Hailun factory has over 400,000 square feet of production capacity and 800 employees. A 200,000 square foot expansion project is underway to accomodate distribution in the U.S. market. Additionally, a new cabinet factory is now complete and began production is 2008. Since 2001, the company has invested heavily in computer-controlled manufacturing equipment and has hired an impressive group of experts from Japan (Ema Shigeru), Europe (Peter Veletzky, Stephen Paulello, Claire Trichet, Sibin Zlatkovic), and the U.S. (Frank Emerson) to help it reach the highest quality standards. While modern manufacturing methods are full utilized, the factory also uses a large amount of skilled manual labour, and provides an in-depth training program for its workers, conducted by piano builders and technicians from the U.S. and Europe.

Hailun is a little different from most of the other Chinese companies selling pianos in the U.S. Its founder and owner, Chen Hailun, is an entrepreneur in the Western style, and deeply involved in every aspect of the business. Originally a maker of molds for industrial use, Chen got into the piano business when piano manufacturers started to use his services to make piano parts. In 1998 he bought out the government's position in his company to better control quality and hiring decisions. He seeks out the best workers by paying considerably higher wages than other piano makers in China, he says, and assists in the training of future piano technicians through an association with a local university. His greatest aspiration, Chen says, is to make the best piano in Asia.

Over the years, much of Chen's technical efforts have gone into maximising the precision and stability of the pianos and parts his company makes. This is evidenced by the substantial investment in computer-controlled machinery used for precision cutting; the design of keys, keybed, and other parts to resist warping; and the fact that grand piano actions are actually interchangeable between instruments of the same model (this requires an unusually high level of precision). The piano themselves exhibit good quality control and intelligence in design. In terms of materials, the company uses maple in grand piano rim, a feature indicative of higher quality and arguably necessary for the best sound. This precision, stability, and quality of materials, combined with the work of experienced design consultants, have resulted in pianos that perform and service better than most other pianos from China, and may favourably compare with some mid-priced pianos from other parts of the world. Our own reviewer tried out a Hailun grand and was impressed with its musicality.

Warranty: 15 years, parts and labor, transferable to future owners within the warranty period; except for action parts, cast-iron plate, and metal case hardware, which are warranted for the lifetime of the original purchaser."

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For those who are wondering what is the relationship between Wendl and Lung pianos and Hailun pianos, you can get a brief explanation here from the Piano Book.
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8ffb87c#/e8ffb87c/185
Basically is because Hailun has hired a group of experts from Europe, where some were related to Wendl and Lung, such that the models became part of Hailun line of pianos. But history wise, Wendl and Lung had a different history altogether. But now, they are similar but meant to make pianos for different markets.