Over 80 years of passion and craftsmanship

1938 - 1984: the first generation

In 1938, Albert Maene and Zulma Doutreloigne inaugurated their piano shop in Esen (Diksmuide). Albert, an organist and music educator, imparted solfège and piano instruction at the Diksmuide music academy and privately at his residence. The business included the rental of piano-equipped rooms for student practice. Zulma’s business acumen complemented Albert’s musical expertise, making them an outstanding team in managing their piano store.

Adjacent to their establishment resided organ builder Jozef Loncke, under whose mentorship Albert honed his piano tuning skills. Further guidance came from Pierre Labyt, a Bruges-based piano dealer and restorer, and Antwerp piano craftsman Guido Vancauwenberghe, both of whom contributed to Albert’s proficiency in the piano industry.

Key achievements during this era included:

1947 Relocation to Ruiselede, Aalterstraat 27
1958 Albert Maene makes a study carillon
1960 Sale of new Kawai grand pianos and grand pianos
1969 Chris Maene builds his first harpsichord
1971 Purchase of brewery "De Molen" in the Aalterstraat 4; this will later become the showroom as well
1972 Official Yamaha dealer
1973 Chris Maene joins the business
1975 First replica pianoforte: copy Johannes Daniel Dulcken
1981 Opening of new showroom in the center of Ruiselede.
1984 Chris Maene becomes manager of Piano's Maene

1984 - 2004: Chris Maene bouwt het bedrijf uit tot een internationale hoofdspeler

1984 - 2004: Chris Maene builds the company into an international key player.

From 1984 Chris Maene took over the torch from his parents and became the head of the business.

He took care of the further growth and expansion of the activities. With traditional craftsmanship he managed to build a workshop with specialists, some of whom received several years of training in Hamburg, Berlin, Poland, Tokyo and Paris. The uniqueness of Piano's Maene is the combination of a piano store, the atelier and the collection of historical instruments. In this way the business guarantees a total service to the customers: sales, rental, maintenance, tuning, restoration and new construction.

Some important milestones of this period :

1989 Opening of a new workshop for instrument making and restoration, at Industriestraat no. 5
1990 10th employee employed.
1990 Start of sales of digital pianos
1994 Opening of a store in Brussels
1994 Maene pianorent: concert and private hire
1995 20th employee in service
1998 Move of the showroom to Industriestraat 5
2000 Official distributor of "Steinway & Sons".
2000 30th employee in service
2001 Opening store Ghent
2002 Exclusive importer of Steinway & Sons

2004 - heden: continuous growth and investment

2004 - present: continuous growth and investment

In 2004, Chris Maene’s two sons, Dominique and Frederic, joined the family business, marking the involvement of the third generation.

Currently, Piano's Maene prides itself on a team of over hundred dedicated professionals, including tuners, sales staff, transporters, administrative personnel, and workshop employees. This team is committed to excellence in service, encompassing maintenance, construction, and restoration of pianos. Prestigious concert venues, such as the Concertgebouw in Bruges and Bozar in Brussels, frequently utilize the instruments and services provided by Piano's Maene. Additionally, the company offers rentals of several historical instruments from Chris Maene’s extensive collection of 350 instruments, which are in demand for concerts and CD recordings alike.

Some important milestones from this period:

2004 Start of Doutreligne pianos and grand pianos
2006 Construction of the replica of the very first Steinway: the "Steinway N°1".
2008 Move to the new headquarters, Industriestraat 42.
2009 45th employee hired. Trends Gazellen West-Vlaanderen award
2009 Investments in the workshop: 3D Cad Software (Top Solid), horizontal flat presses, vertical press
2010 Investment in new ERP software Navision
2010 Atelier Chris Maene builds replica of the Chopinpiano : a concert grand piano Pleyel from 1843
2010 Atelier designs a Doutreligne designer grand piano : the Doutreligne Seven. First market introduction at Interieur in Kortrijk
2011 Piano's Maene wins the "Henry Van de Velde"-award for the design piano Doutreligne Seven
2012 Piano's Maene buys a recent industrial building and opens a fourth branch in Wommelgem-Antwerp
2012 Chris Maene hands over daily management to CEO Stefaan Vanfleteren and his management team, and focuses himself on the workshop and instrument making, the DNA of the company
2013 Piano's Maene opens new branch in Ghent (Sint-Denijs-Westrem)
2013 Piano's Maene officially becomes "court supplier", after years of providing service and instruments to the court and royal family
2013 Chris Maene and his workshop build a replica of an 1817 Broadwood pianoforte, commissioned by Mc.Gill University in Canada
2014 Klara, the classical music radio par excellence, elects Chris Maene as music personality of 2013
2015 Chris Maene and his workshop build own concert grand piano (straight-strung string) for Maestro Daniel Barenboim
2015 Design piano Doutreligne Seven and Chris Maene Concert Grand piano are presented in the Belgian Pavilion at the World Expo in Milan
2016 Piano's Maene buys the Paterskerk of Oud-Rekem (Lanaken, Belgian Limburg) and opens a new branch there (after intensive renovations)
2017 Piano's Maene commits to the climate and plants from now on, through WeForest, a tree for every sold or produced piano
2018 Piano's Maene takes over the Dutch Ypma Pianos and renames it "Piano's Maene Netherlands". This also makes Maene an importer of Steinway&Sons for Belgium and the Netherlands
2019 In November, His Majesty King Filip and Her Majesty Queen Mathilde visit the headquarters of Piano's Maene in Ruiselede. They will also get an extended tour in the Chris Maene workshop, where the right-handed concert grand pianos are built
2020 The Conservatories in The Hague and Maastricht resolutely choose Piano's Maene Nederland as their piano partner. The piano park is renewed and dozens of Steinway and Yamaha grand pianos are delivered. The Maastricht conservatory even chooses to become an "all Steinway School"
2020 Piano's Maene wants the best customer experience and service, and for this purpose invests further in the digitalization of customer contacts. The own transports are organized from now on with DROPON, a tool for planning the transports and easy tracing for the customer
2023 On May 2, 2023, the renowned piano company Clavis Piano’s was acquired, and the three existing branches, Amsterdam, Delft, and Utrecht, became part of Piano's Maene Nederland. Piano's Maene is the official representative for the instruments of Steinway & Sons, Boston, and Essex in the Netherlands