In 1729, he acquired the citizenship of Glückstadt and worked there as an organ and instrument maker[1] On the side, he ran a hostelry with an inn.
From 1733 onwards, he was in conflict with his competitors Lambert Daniel Kastens and Johann Dietrich Busch, who ran a workshop in Itzehoe.
After petitioning the Danish king five times, Klapmeyer received the longed-for organ building concession for life for the area of Schleswig-Holstein in 1735.
After Klapmeyer's death in 1758, the privilege was transferred to his widow, who commissioned Maaß with the work.
[2] A descendant that bore his name, Johann Hinrich Klapmeyer (1724–1792), possibly a grandson, was based in Oldenburg (Lower Saxony) and built and repaired instruments in the Orgellandschaft Oldenburg [de] and the Orgellandschaft zwischen Elbe und Weser [de].