Rick Baldassin first met Joseph Pramberger on one of his many visits to the Steinway factory in New York. At the time, Baldassin was handling concert technical services for Steinway in Utah, and Pramberger was Vice President of Manufacturing for the company. After Pramberger left Steinway in 1987, he and Baldassin were again acquainted through the Renner Company of Germany, makers of the World's finest piano actions. Pramberger had started his own restoration company in New York and was acting as a consultant to some of the major piano manufacturers such as Yamaha, Baldwin, and Mason & Hamlin. Baldassin was chief technical consultant for Renner in the United States.