It has been over 50 years since iron frames for grand pianos were last cast in Denmark, but now the ULDALL foundry in Vejen is once again undertaking this spectacular task. In close collaboration with Jon Windfeldt Arnø, who has revived the Hornung & Møller piano factory, ULDALL is remelting iron frames from old grand pianos and casting new frames with high load-bearing capacity that do not interfere with the unique sound of the newly built grand pianos.
Cast iron is used in everything from trucks and sewage pumps to wind turbines and apple slice pans – but the material also has the right properties for use in a grand piano. This is precisely the case in a new collaboration between the ULDALL iron foundry in Vejen and the Hornung & Møller piano factory in Espergærde in North Zealand.
- We regularly purchase old grand pianos that we can use to build new ones. The iron frame is a key element in a grand piano, and ULDALL helps us melt it down and cast new ones. The original iron frames are based on a design that is more than 100 years old. We have redesigned the frame so that it better supports the right sound in the grand piano, explains Jon Windfeldt Arnø, piano builder and owner of Hornung & Møller.
In 2018, he revived the proud old piano factory Hornung & Møller, which has roots dating back to 1827 but was closed in 1972. With the ambition of recreating the factory's heyday, he began working on a whole new generation of concert grand pianos built from scratch in Denmark.
Since September 2025, Hornung & Møller has been collaborating with ULDALL on the casting of the new grand piano iron frames.
- At ULDALL, we are always ready for new challenges and spectacular tasks where craftsmanship, precision and respect for history go hand in hand with development and innovation. This is very much the case in our collaboration with Hornung & Møller, and we are, in all modesty, quite proud to contribute to this unique craftsmanship and bring Danish piano manufacturing back to world class, says Dion Brun, Sales Director at ULDALL.
The new iron frames are first drawn in two dimensions and then in three dimensions. Next, the design of the model itself begins, which must be one per cent larger than the finished result, as the cast iron shrinks during the melting process. At least two old iron frames are used to make one new iron frame
- Our very first concert grand piano was completed in March 2025, and we are very excited about the new grand pianos and the revival of Hornung & Møller as a brand. I am therefore also very pleased about collaborating with ULDALL, who can help us with the solutions we need. Cast iron is the perfect material for our grand pianos because it can withstand the high string tension when the piano is strung during the construction process, and because the material's structure is so homogeneous and has a high carbon content that vibrations from the music cannot pass through the iron. In other words, cast iron has a high load-bearing capacity without disturbing the sound of the grand piano, and that is exactly what we need, explains Jon Windfeldt Arnø.
Hornung & Møller is currently building three new grand pianos at the same time and expects them to be completed during the summer.
For yderligere oplysninger kontakt venligst:
Dion Brun, salgsdirektør, ULDALL, telefon: +45 75 36 09 22 og e-mail: db@uldall.dk
Presseservice: Trine Kristensen, Publicity, mobil: +45 2980 4021 og e-mail: trine@publicity.dk