In 1930, KHS Musical Instrument Company was founded in Taiwan to produce educational products. The company’s full name, Kung Hsue She literally means “a company helping schools and culture.” The first musical instruments were added to the roster of products in the 1950’s and by 1980 KHS was a major player in the music industry. They started Jupiter, a division of KHS, to build wind and percussion instruments to serve the specific needs of the student. In doing so, they created true value for musicians of all ages with a quality product that can be recommended by educators with confidence. Jupiter is now a major producer of clarinets, euphoniums, flutes, oboes, piccolos, saxophones, sousaphones, trombones and more.

The secret to Jupiter’s success is that they are truly global. They manufacture locally to keep costs down but use traditionally-sourced components and materials. Clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces, for example, are imported from Germany and the pads, springs, felt and cork are imported from Italy and France. The lacquer might be from the US or Great Britain. Even the hand tools used to craft the instruments are from the U.S. or Switzerland. The Jupiter process is truly a global effort to produce a great instrument.