Kimball Electronics history

Jasper also expanded piano and organ production into European markets with the acquisition of the English company Herrburger Brooks P.L.C. in 1965.

Jasper also acquired an Alabama manufacturer of Victorian reproduction furniture in 1969; Jasper later renamed the company Kimball Furniture Reproductions, Inc.

In 1970, the company decided to manufacture and market office furniture under the Kimball brand name.

​In July 1974, The Jasper Corporation changed its name to Kimball International, in part because of the strength and reputation of the Kimball brand name.

In November 1979, the company acquired design and manufacturing rights for a line of office furniture systems produced by Artec, which became a unit of Kimball International.

​In 1980, Kimball International again expanded its influence in the office furniture market.

The Castleton, Indiana, store had been acquired in 1982 to use as a test market.

The company phased out organ operations in 1983, though it retained and expanded its electronic assembly business in the renamed Kimball Electronics-Jasper manufacturing facilities.

In 1987, this division was renamed Kimball International Transit, Inc.; the outfit operated a fleet of trucks that carried the company's products and was also licensed to carry goods for other companies.

The division, which operates a 200,000-square-foot plant in Jasper, Indiana, began producing the Cetra line of office furniture in 1988.

Merged in 1991 into Kimball Europe P.L.C., the unit makes and markets Herrburger Brooks brand piano components and office furniture for sale in the United Kingdom.

Kimball took a step toward further diversification in the production of furniture in 1992 when it acquired the Torrance, California-based Harpers, Inc., a manufacturer of metal office furniture.

Kimball closed its sole piano store, Wilking Music Co., in September 1995.

In February 1996, the Board of Directors of Kimball International approved a resolution to cease piano manufacturing operations and align those resources into the company's contract furniture and cabinets group.

The first collections, Cherry Falls and Oak Meadow, debuted in April 1997 and were designed by Ron Stilwell of North Carolina.

Kimball had record sales of $1.1 billion in fiscal 1999, with 70 percent of revenues deriving from its furniture segment.

In April 2000, a plant in Thailand opened.

Kimball closed five plants in Indiana, North Carolina, Kentucky, and France in 2001, and cut 2,300 workers from its payroll, due to a slowdown in furniture demand.

​In 2003, while remaining clearly focused on its strategic vision, Kimball International announced and executed a careful plan to exit non-core markets and to divest several unprofitable business operations.