| Industry | Stationery |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Ryosuke Namiki and Erich Drafahl |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Writing instruments |
| Website | www.pilotpen.com |
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 most well 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, Malaysia, 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.
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The Pilot Pen Corporation was founded by Erich Drafahl and Ryosuke Namiki in 1918 under the name of the Namiki Manufacturing Company. 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.
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.
The following chart contains the Pilot product lines. [1]
| Category | Range of products |
|---|---|
| Pens | Fountain, ballpoint, rollerball and gel ink pens |
| Markers | Marker pens, highlighters |
| Pencils | Mechanical pencils |
| Accessories | refills |
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