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1979 – today
Founded: Chuck Surack founded Sweetwater in Fort Wayne in 1979. He had come off the road as a touring saxophonist and keyboard player and, in 1978, launched a mobile recording studio — a four-track Teac rig in the back of a Volkswagen bus. The permanent studio followed in 1979, first in his home on Getz Road and then in a subsequent home on Bass Road.
Founder: Chuck Surack (chairman since 2021).
What it did: A recording studio that became a retailer: frustrated by the service available to professional musicians, Surack moved into selling the equipment himself. His Kurzweil K250 sound library and programming — sold to Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, among others — built the company's national reputation in the 1980s.
Course: By 1990, with six employees and $6 million in sales, the business outgrew the house and moved to its first commercial building at 5335 Bass Road. Sweetwater launched its website in 1995 and was selling most of its inventory online by 1999. In late 2005 it began moving to a new headquarters campus at Kroemer Road and U.S. 30 — 44 acres at the first plan, since grown to more than 160 acres with a retail store, studios, a theatre and a music academy. Revenue passed $1 billion in 2020.
Fate: In August 2021 Providence Equity Partners acquired a majority stake; Surack stepped down as CEO and became chairman, and he and his wife Lisa now lead Surack Enterprises. Sweetwater remains headquartered in Fort Wayne with more than 2,500 employees — the largest online retailer of musical instruments and pro audio in the United States — and opened a second distribution centre in Arizona in 2022.
Sources:
- Sweetwater, "The Sweetwater Story" and "Our Story" (company history) — the 1978 mobile studio; the 1979 founding; Getz Road and Bass Road; the Kurzweil years; the late-2005 campus move.
- Sweetwater Sound, Wikipedia — founded 1979; Providence Equity majority stake, August 2021; Surack's move to chairman.
- Alchetron/Wikipedia chain — by 1990, six employees, $6 million sales, first commercial building; website 1995; online sales by 1999.
- Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Sweetwater success story — 2,500+ employees; Fort Wayne headquarters; Arizona distribution centre.