When the Tokyo Broadcasting Co. seeks exotic locales for its popular “Sekai Ururun Taizaki” reality TV travelogue it can go anywhere in the world, placing a Japanese celebrity with a master craftsman for a week.

This is how theater and TV star Koji Yamamato ended up at Benedetto Guitars Inc. in Savannah, learning from Robert Benedetto how to make archtop guitars that have been played by three generations of jazz masters.

Not only did Mr. Yamamoto learn about making these special instruments, but he also performed in local clubs and soaked up the U.S. Southeast’s musical heritage.

All this he shared upon his return to Japan on television and the Internet where his YouTube videos about his November 2007 U.S. experiences are still drawing visitors.

While Mr. Yamamoto’s appearance on Japanese television heightened Benedetto Guitars’ notoriety there, in Georgia it helped the company clinch the second annual Georgia Featured Export Product Award on Nov. 7.

The award is given to a small- to medium-sized Georgia business for its efforts to develop innovative products that will be successful overseas. Companies with 150 or fewer employees or those with annual sales of $150 million or less are qualified to participate in the competition.

The presentation is made at the Annual Georgia European Union Summit held in Macon at the Idle Hour Country Club. The awards dinner brings together representatives of the state’s consular corps with state business, economic and government officials.

Georgia economic development and summit officials said they had several good companies to choose from this year, but that Benedetto Guitars was an outstanding choice.

“It was really Benedetto’s philosophy that impressed us,” Kathe Falls, the state's director of international trade, told GlobalAtlanta. “All the guitars are handcrafted and every employee but one, I think, is a musician. They are so passionate about their work.”

Howard Paul, the company president, said that 15-20 percent of the company’s annual sales are derived from exports, but that the percentage can rise or fall depending on the state of the global economy and exchange rates.

The Ururun show not only raised awareness about Benedetto Guitars in Japan, it also helped the company in its negotiations with a Japanese dealer. “The show sealed the deal,” Mr. Paul said.

The company, he added, currently is negotiating with dealers in France and Russia. It already has distributors in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland and United Kingdom.

Mr. Paul said that the company would share a booth with E & O Mari Inc., the manufacturer of La Bella Strings for all sorts of stringed instruments, at the Musikmesse international trade fair for musical instruments to be held in Frankfurt, Germany, April 1-4, 2009.

Mr. Benedetto, the company’s founder, was born in New York into a family of cabinetmakers and musicians. In 1968, he made his first archtop guitar using for the handle part of a 30-year-old maple table that his father had made.

According to his life story found on www.benedettoguitars.com, he also later cut up his sister’s bed and a bookcase to make more guitars. Now there are Benedetto guitars in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

Benedetto Guitars moved to Savannah after it ended a licensing agreement with Fender Musical Instruments in 2006 and hired Mr. Paul, a former executive at Chatham Steel Corp. in Savannah and a musician, as its president and CEO.

Mr. Paul said that the company reestablished itself two years ago in Savannah where he was living to gain more control over the development of the business.

He added that Benedetto guitars range in price form $2,500 for their inexpensive models to $40,000 or more on the higher end.

François Rivasseau, deputy chief of the diplomatic mission at the French embassy in Washington, was the keynote speaker at the dinner, which was sponsored by Central Georgia Technical College. The Macon International Cherry Blossom Festival hosted the event.

Mr. Paul may be reached by calling (912) 663-0996 or by sending an email to hpaul@benedettoguitars. 

2008 The Agio Press, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without expressed permission.

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