News

Jack White's Third Man Records today announced the opening on February 25th of its new Detroit pressing plant in the heart of the city's historic Cass corridor neighborhood, down the block from the Shinola store.

To quote the (literal) press release: "The past year has been spent investing creative energy and passion into crafting a meticulously designed boutique vinyl record production facility with a unique customer experience, providing visual evidence to visitors of vinyl's beauty and importance. Third Man Pressing is an investment in Third Man Records' hometown, a neighborhood within a city both rich with musical history, creating a space that is as inspiring as it is prolific."

The press release continues:"As the first label to operate a fleet of brand new, environmentally efficient pressing machinery (from Newbuilt of Germany) within a purpose-built manufacturing infrastructure, Third Man Pressing minimizes water waste by using recycled water from the record curing process in the air conditioning system, thus creating the only fully climate-controlled pressing plant work environment in the world. Each pressing station is outfitted with a digital touch screen control for temperature, hydraulic compression, and extruder speed, equaling increased control for the highly trained staff as well as a superior product. The plant was engineered to not only be environmentally sustainable, but also community sensitive with its innovative noise reduction construction techniques."

Third Man Pressing Features (in addition to the best looking "press men"):

• Operating eight of the first newly built presses built in 35 years, plus four extruders, and four hydraulic generators - all brand new
  
• Presses can accommodate 12" LP's or 7" singles according to demand
  
• Only fully climate-controlled pressing plant work environment in the world
  
• All new, state-of-the-art pressing machinery and purpose-built manufacturing infrastructure
  
• Closed-loop, chilled-water system that maximizes water sustainability
  
• Environment design that inspires passion in record making, resulting in superior products
  
• Four high-efficiency hydraulic systems isolated in a dedicated, contained room
  
• Digital touch screen controls for temperature, hydraulic compression, and extrusion speed
  
• Engineered sound containment for minimal external noise pollution
  
• Built by audio and studio fabrication experts responsible for some of the most-lauded recording studios in the world
  
• Capacity estimated at 5000 records per 8 hour shift, with a current cycle time of approximately 45 seconds per record
  
• Competitive turnaround times
  
• Mural by Cass Corridor artist Robert Sestok*

I got to see all of this when I visited Shinola back in November but it was not yet up and running. How cool is this:

"The inner workings of Third Man Pressing will be on display during Third Man Records Cass Corridor business hours from the storefront's open-to-the-public viewing platform 7 days a week, with employees always happy to answer questions about the process, and more in-depth tours available in the coming months for those interested. Third Man Records' mission has always centered around bringing the tangible, the unexpected, and the beautiful back into the business, and the team is beyond thrilled to share the facility, its exceptional product, and its significance with the city it calls home."

Third Man Pressing invites the public to join in the opening day festivities on February 25th. The Third Man Records Cass Corridor storefront will be buzzing with live music, new and exclusive merchandise (including a celebratory poster by Rob Jones), and, of course, the first commercially available records to be pressed in the plant. The limited edition releases available on opening day (in Detroit only) are as follows:

• The White Stripes - The White Stripes
  
• The Detroit duo's first release (originally recorded in the Cass Corridor), pressed on red vinyl with on-site screen printed jackets
  
• The White Stripes - De Stijl
  
• The second album from The White Stripes, pressed on red vinyl with on-site screen printed jackets
  
• The Black Hole LP
  
• Destroy All Monsters / Xanadu split 12" on black vinyl. Both records were originally released in limited numbers on Black Hole Records in 1979, and this is the first reissue for any of the material from either band.
  
• Detroit Gospel Reissue Project: Our first third-party pressing and the first of a seven-record series featuring incredibly vital and largely forgotten music from dozens of Detroit artists, reissued proudly by noted archivist Mike McGonigal. A subscriber version (with handmade silkscreened jackets) and regular version of JOHNSON FAMILY SINGERS Don't Let the Devil Ride
  
• Perhaps a few additional surprises...

"Third Man Pressing brings upwards of 50 new living wage jobs with benefits into Detroit (on top of the 20 jobs already created by the Willy's building Third Man Records location at large), and, in complement with Shinola's recent start of production of high-end turntables, marks the triumphant return of the once-thought-lost record industry to one of the country's great industrial AND musical cities.

And there you have it!