If
you smell the distinct incense of a soldering iron, our pipemaker,
Thomas Linder is sure to be close by. Thomas has been making pipes for
close to 30 years and we challenge anyone to lay a straighter line on a
pipe than he does.In the early seventies, Thomas was working for a machine shop but anxious to find a different line of work. The hunt for a new job was on. He happened to drive by the factory of W. Zimmer and Sons, Inc. that had a logo with a pipe posted on the front of the shop. Tommy had never seen a pipe organ before so he stopped in to take a look. It just so happened that the company was looking for someone who could make pipes. Thomas wanted the job so the match was made and he has been making pipes ever since.
In 1992, Thomas left W. Zimmer and Sons to work for Cornel Zimmer Organ Builders. We feel fortunate to be able to build our pipes right here at the factory. It gives us flexibility in design and manufacture. In addition to making pipes "form scratch", he repairs, polishes and paints pipes to the customer request. If you take a look at the pictures of our organs on the website, you can see the many different variations
In his spare time, he likes to fish and go to the mountains with his son Thomas and wife Etta. Years ago Thomas and Etta built a log cabin in South Carolina that they still live in today.