Johannus Orgelbouw is a Dutch builder of electronic organs for home and church use, located in Ede, Netherlands. The organ manufacturer was founded in 1968 by Johannes Versteegt, who had previously designed electronic organs for Eminent and Viscount. The Johannus prototypes were developed in the facility at Prins Hendriklaan in Ede.
History
In 1971 the factory started production at Tuinstraat in Veenendaal and the Johannus organs were introduced at the Firato exhibition in Amsterdam. From there, Johannus organs went all over Europe. In 1976 a new factory was built at Morsestraat 28 in Ede. The factory had an auditorium named after famous Dutch organist :nl:Feike Asma|Feike Asma. Hans expanded the company’s export activities to the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and other countries. In 1985, Hans Versteegt retired from the company he founded. In 1987, Gert van de Weerd acquired Johannus, introducing real-time sampling in digital organ technology, and increased organ sales in many countries. In 2002, a new headquarters and production facility was inaugurated at Keplerlaan 2 in Ede. Built in late 19th-century style, the new headquarters has a concert hall that seats 330. In 2009, Gert van de Weerd retired and handed Johannus over to his two sons, Marco van de Weerd and René van de Weerd and by 2014, Johannus products were exported to more than 100 countries worldwide. In January, 2016, the van de Weerds acquired Rodgers Instruments, an American organ manufacturer. In addition to Johannus and Rodgers, they also own the Makin and Copeman Hart organ brands.
Technology
1968–1979: Diode keying, analog technology 1980–1986: TMS, integrated circuit, analog technology 1987–1994: M114 digital 8-bit converter, real-time sampling technology 1995–1996: T9500 digital 18-bit converter, introducing Romantic and Baroque sample sets 1997–2001: T9700 digital 20-bit converter, I2C technology 2002–2010: T8000 digital 24-bit converter, introducing 3 sets of sample banks 2011–today: T9000 digital 24-bit converter, introducing 4 sets of sample banks 2012–today: OranjeCore technology
