Pilot (pen company)
| 200px | |
| Public KK | |
| Traded as | TYO: 7846 |
| Industry | Stationery |
| Founded | 1918 as Namiki Manufacturing Company |
| Founder | Ryosuke Namiki |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Writing instruments |
| Website | pilotpen |
Pilot Corporation (株式会社パイロットコーポレーション Kabushiki Kaisha Pairotto Kōporēshon?, TYO: 7846) is a Japanese pen manufacturer based in Tokyo, Japan. It produces writing instruments, stationery and jewellery, but is best known for its pens.
It is the largest pen manufacturer in Japan, and has a large number of subsidiaries throughout the world, including in the Philippines, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Brazil, South Africa, Germany and France. Most Pilot pens are made in Japan, France and the USA. Namiki, the fountain pens with maki-e lacquering designs, are made in the Hiratsuka factory.
History
In 1915, Ryosuke Namiki (並木良輔), a professor in Japan, left his job to found a small factory near Tokyo to produce gold pen nibs.[1] In 1916, Namiki expanded his product line and became a full-fledged manufacturer of writing instruments.[1]
The Pilot Pen Corporation was founded by Ryosuke Namiki with Masao Wada (和田正雄) in 1918 under the name of the Namiki Manufacturing Company.[1]
In 1926 it established overseas offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Boston, London and Shanghai. In 1938 the name of the company changed to the Pilot Pen Co., Ltd. It was again renamed in 1950 as the Pilot Ink Company, Ltd. In 1954 a branch was opened in Brazil. From 1972 - 1999 various sub companies were formed to cover the various branches, and the collective name for these is Pilot Corporation. More recently, Pilot began the BeGreen line, pens and pencils composed of mostly recycled content.
Luxor Writing Instruments, is a major Indian stationery company based in India. Luxor manufactures and markets pens and writing instruments under the Luxor, Pilot and other pen brands. Luxor was founded in 1963 in India.[2]
Fountain Pens
In 1964, Pilot Corporation introduced the Capless. Unlike other fountain pens during its time, the Pilot Capless featured a fully retractable nib. The Capless was later reintroduced as the Vanishing Point in 1972. In 2012, the company released the Metropolitan, a popular entry-level fountain pen.
Products
The following chart contains the Pilot product lines.[3]
| Category | Range of products |
|---|---|
| Pens | Fountain, ballpoint, rollerball and gel ink pens |
| Markers | Marker pens, highlighters |
| Pencils | Mechanical pencils |
| Accessories | refills |
Gallery
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Pilot Petit1 fountain pen.jpg
Pilot Petit1 fountain pen.
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Pilot Dr. Grip Gel Pen.JPG
Dr. Grip gel pen.
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A 0.25 mm Pilot Hi-Tec-C gel pen used to take very compact class notes.
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Pilot Frixion Pens.jpg
Frixion pens whose ink can be made transparent by friction heat
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Pilot Pen: History", Pilot website.
- ↑ Luxor Pens: About Us
- ↑ Pilot pen website
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pilot Corporation. |
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles containing Japanese-language text
- Commons category link is locally defined
- Articles with Japanese-language external links
- Fountain pen and ink manufacturers
- Manufacturing companies of Japan
- Office supply companies
- Pens
- Japanese stationery
- Companies based in Tokyo
- Manufacturing companies established in 1918
- Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
- Japanese brands
- 1918 establishments in Japan
- Midori-kai
