Vinyl records now in crisis: Apollo Transco Mastering lacquer plant is a total loss*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by SoCalWJS, Feb 6, 2020.

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  1. SoCalWJS

    SoCalWJS Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Fire Rips Through Banning Commercial Structure

    I don't know the name of this Company (Officially), but the local Social Media are saying that it is an "Old School" Vinyl/Records manufacturer, and local Media is only saying "Laquer Mastering" plant.

    Anybody know if there is a Manufacturer or Mastering location in Banning California (Riverside County, Southern California)?
     
    Crimson Witch likes this.
  2. crustycurmudgeon

    crustycurmudgeon We've all got our faults, mine's the Calaveras

    Location:
    Hollister, CA
    Google says Apollo Masters Corporation is at that address (101 W Lincoln St).

    Apollo Masters lacquer record discs

    edit: oops, that information is near the bottom of the article.
     
    McLover likes this.
  3. hammr7

    hammr7 Forum Resident

    Apollo was (and maybe still is) the industry leading company that making lacquer blanks used to cut record masters. They were large before and became dominant after buying out Transco in 2007. If things are burning it likely involves their lacquer production lines. If true this could be a horrible jolt for anyone who wants blank master discs.
     
  4. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    The building is a total loss. That is the end of lacquer production in California, or in the USA. Trouble ahead, now only one lacquer facility in the world. Japan, isn't it?

    So, the DMM people are dancing in the streets today..
     
  5. segue

    segue Psychoacoustic Member

    Location:
    Hawai'i
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2020
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  6. longdist01

    longdist01 Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    RIP Apollo...very sad to read this loss to Lacquer production industry
     
  7. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    A very sad loss in the lacquer industry. Is Pyral still making lacquer discs? Apollo/Transco's plant fire is a very major problem in the industry, a major lacquer supplier.
     
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  8. GK

    GK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh PA
    Terrible news. I wonder how many people are now out of a job. Looks like no injuries...?
     
  9. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

    Not according to wikipedia.
     
  10. GK

    GK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh PA
    Forgive my ignorance, but this means vinyl discs on which to press will be in short supply?
     
  11. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

    This place manufactured the acetate discs that mastering engineers cut the grooves on. Based on what I've read, there is one other supplier of lacquer discs.

    If I'm not mistaken, there aren't many people that make the actual vinyl material for pressing either. I've read before that vinyl production is reliant on a dwindling supply of materials, machines and people who know how to work them.
     
  12. GK

    GK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh PA
    Thanks. Just read a little about DMM.
     
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  13. Crimson Witch

    Crimson Witch Roll across the floor thru the hole & out the door

    Location:
    Lower Michigan
    No doubt planned.


    Next up :
    Sonic Attack

    Hawkwind
     
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  14. gregorya

    gregorya I approve of this message

    Since there is such a demand, why wouldn't it make good business sense to build another facility?

    I ask this question as a totally naive person on this subject.
     
  15. Crimson Witch

    Crimson Witch Roll across the floor thru the hole & out the door

    Location:
    Lower Michigan
    Indeed. A very good question.
    My guess is if it can be a cost-effective return on investment, then perhaps there will be.
     
  16. hammr7

    hammr7 Forum Resident

    The raw components (resins, stabilizers, colorants, etc.) for actually pressing vinyl are readily available. The equipment used to press records is in somewhat shorter supply, and most of it is decades old, although it is and can be maintained. The craftsmen who can properly blend the vinyl components to work perfectly in the aging equipment are few and far between.

    Apollo provides the blank acetate coated aluminum discs that become the master discs used to create the metal dies inserted into LP presses. The acetate (known as lacquer) coatings are the part of the disc inscribed with all the musical information when a master disc is cut on a record lathe.

    If you read Apollo's history, most of their lacquer master production equipment is as old as most record presses. It is, however, much rarer. In fact, much of Apollo's production line may well be unique. It may not be cost effective to try and reconstruct it, depending upon how badly it was damaged. A collateral issue is whether the equipment documentation was also lost. Without sufficient documentation it may be impossible to reconstruct.
     
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  17. Crimson Witch

    Crimson Witch Roll across the floor thru the hole & out the door

    Location:
    Lower Michigan

    Perhaps impossible to reconstruct exactly as it existed here .. but not impossible to redesign and reconstruct anew. It was built for the first time before, and something equivalent can be built again. But just as you and I have both mentioned, cost-effective return on investment could be a snag.
     
  18. Partyslammer

    Partyslammer Lord Of The New Church

    I’d add that thanks to California’s tough environmental regulations, it may be impossible to rebuild such a business in this state.
     
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  19. GeorgeZ

    GeorgeZ Forum Resident

    The last sentence is cynical, Mr. Hoffman. This accident will make even more trouble in the whole vinyl production industry. The DMM cutting cannot and shouldn't fill the gap. We hope the company will restore and will produce good lacquers in the future (we used and use them as well).
     
    wipster, Man at C&A, Sean and 10 others like this.
  20. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    If the existing facility was able to operate, there should be no reason that a replacement shouldn’t be able to secure the proper approvals.
     
  21. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    And I doubt the DMM people are dancing in the streets, as was suggested earlier. Not that I personally know the cost here to vinyl production but I would think anything of this magnitude to a still somewhat small manufacturing process is going to be a big loss.

    Plus hopefully no injuries, and the article mentioned there was not.
     
  22. nosliw

    nosliw Delivering parcels throughout Teyvat! Meow~!

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    This is clearly not good for the local economy with respect to jobs, their niche knowledge, and the vinyl record manufacturing as a whole. The repercussion for vinyl records as a whole will be truly significant.
     
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  23. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Exactly, if Apollo/Transco rebuilds, they likely would have to relocate too. Being that this company is the USA's dominant supplier of lacquer discs, and a major world supplier of lacquer discs used for disc mastering, this is a major blow to vinyl production. There are not enough DMM lathes in the USA, available to take up the slack.
     
  24. segue

    segue Psychoacoustic Member

    Location:
    Hawai'i
  25. Pete Norman

    Pete Norman Forum Resident

    DMM huh...thin sounding low level records for you all then...
     
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