We are Steinway – Nicolai FedderTeam Leader, Surface Department

Nicolai Fedder grew up with Steinway. His father spent 48 years at the Hamburg factory, and as a boy Nicolai considered it a second home. When he joined the company himself in 2003 — starting out as a grinder and polisher — it was less a career choice than a homecoming.

The Art of the Surface

Today Fedder leads the Surface Department, the team that gives every Steinway grand piano its signature finish. The work demands patience, a trained eye, and an intimate knowledge of the instrument — qualities he has refined over nearly two decades on the factory floor.

For Fedder, pride in the craft is inseparable from pride in the team. Each piano that leaves the department is, in a small but essential way, a reflection of the people who shaped its surface.