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 pen manufacturer based in Tokyo, Japan. It produces writing instruments, stationery, and jewelry but is most well known for pens. It is the third largest pen manufacturer in the United States and the largest in Japan. It has a large number of subsidiaries located in countries throughout the world, including the Philippines, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, and France. Most Pilot pens are made in Japan, Korea, the USA, and China under the name Pilot Corporation of China. Ryosuke Namiki founded the company in 1918.
Namiki, the fountain pens with maki-e lacquering designs, are made in the Hiratsuka factory.
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History
The Pilot Pen Corporation was founded in 1918 under the name of the Namiki Manufacturing Company. In 1926 it established overseas offices in Malaysia, Singapore, New York, 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 The company opened a branch in Brazil. During the years 1972- 1999 various sub companies were formed to cover the various branches. The collective name for these, decided in 2003, is Pilot Corporation.
Products
Fountain pens
- V-pen, another disposable (can be refilled with a little effort) fountain pen, known as Varsity in the US
- Vortex, A pocket sized, refillable fountain pen
- Capless, This is a fountain pen designed with a retractable nib, known as the Vanishing Point in the US
- Pilot Petit1 [1]
- The Pilot "Petit1" is a fountain pen marketed to high school and college students. They are disposable or refillable with a pop-in ink cartridge.
- Pilot Birdie [2], a slim and small pen with brushed steel body
Ball point pens (non-gel ink)
- BP-S and BPS-GP, refillable ballpoints with or without rubber grips
- EasyTouch, refillable ballpoints with rubber grips, retractable or capped.
- Rexgrip, a ball point pen with a rubberized grip
- Dr. Grip Equilibrium, a well balanced refillable, retractable ball point pen with large cushioned rubber grip
- DR. Grip Neon, Wide comfort grip alleviates writing stress, glowing Neon barrel shades.
Liquid ink needle-point pens
- Precise V5/V7 (named Hi-Tecpoint in Europe - similar international naming parallels exist for many Pilot pens), needle-point ink pen with large visible ink supply
- Precise V5/V7 RT, needle-point ink pen retractable with rubber grip, refillable. Ink cartridge is more like Gel type, instead of liquid type in V5/V7.
- Precise Grip, needle-point ink pen with rubber grip
- Precise Zing, needle-point ink pen with rubber grip, refillable
- Precise, needle-point ink pen with an opaque barrel
Gel ink rollerball pens
- G1, a refillable gel ink pen, available with or without rubber grip
- G2, a refillable, retractable gel ink pen with a rubber grip, in both plastic and metal accents (the Limited version, introduced October 2007); also in mini size. It comes in many different colors and has been dubbed by Pilot "America's #1 Selling Gel Pen". Gel Ink is claimed to be acid-free and archival safe.
- G2 Pro, a refillable, retractable gel ink pen, with a rubber grip and metal accents that is a thicker, slightly longer version of the regular G2. Uses the same refill as the regular G2.
- Super Gel, a single use gel ink pen
- Neo Gel, a single use gel ink pen
- Hi-Tec-C [3]
- Pilot Hi-Tec C pens are currently very popular in Japan and parts of Asia. Though they have been around for more than a decade, they still rank as one of the top-selling gel pens in Japan as well as much of Asia. They are available in 0.25 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm sizes and come in over two dozen colors. The line also has a new "Waragi" color line (soft pastel colors) that were introduced in 2005. It is also available in Hi-Tec-C Coleto, a double coloured pen.
- Alphagel (G6) , a refillable, retractable gel pen with a rubber grip covering most of the pen surface. Thicker than the G2.
- Precise Gel, also G-Techmatic, a refillable, retractable needle-point gel ink pen, with a rubber grip (uses Q7 or G2 refill)
- Q7 Gel, a refillable, retractable needle-point gel ink pen, with a metallic barrel and contoured rubber grip (uses Q7 or G2 refill)
- FriXion Ball, an erasable gel ink pen with a gray tail plug for erasing the gel ink
- PermaBall, roller ball pen with ink which can be written on plastic, metal, glass and ceramic, as well as paper and card
Ink
- Pilot/Namiki ink for fountain pens, available in the USA in a Namiki-branded bottle (black ink and blue ink only) and in proprietary Pilot/Namiki cartridges (black, blue, and several other colors).
Mechanical pencils
- 2020 Super Grip, also the Shaker, has a 'Shake' or 'Press' mechanism with rubberized grip, clip and clear barrel.
- Shaker X, has a 'Shake' or 'Press' mechanism with rubberized grip
- neXtage Shaker, , has a 'Shake' or 'Press' mechanism with a durable clip and 5 barrel designs
- Dr. Grip Center of Gravity, a well balanced shaker mechanical pencil with double-layered rubber grip and a dual cap structure
Major facilities
- Pilot Corporation World Headquarters - This is the global headquarters of the company located in Tokyo, Japan
- Hiratsuka Plant - manufacturing plant for fountain pens, printer related products and jewelry
- Isesaki Plant - This plant is involved in the mass-production of ball point pens and water-based ink ball point pens
- The Pilot Ink Company, Ltd., This company manufactures the ink used in Pilot products: Pilot Corportion of China.ninbo CH. liquid ink pens
- Pilot Pen Plant - Under Construction in Jacksonville, FL by Elkins Constructors, the new North Amercan headquarters
See also
External links
- Pilot, global portal
- Pilot Corporation, Japan / headquarters (Japanese)
- Pilot Pen Corporation of America, USA / North America
- Pilot Corporation of Europe, France / Europe Pilot Corporation of China
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