Pilot (pen company)

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Pilot Corporation
?????????????????
Pilot pen logo.svg
PILOT Corporation (headquarters).jpg
Headquarters in Chuo, Tokyo
Type
Public (K.K)
Traded as TYO: 7846
Industry Stationery
Founded 1918; 101 years ago
as Namiki Manufacturing Company
Founder Ryosuke Namiki
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan
Area served
Worldwide
Products Writing instruments
Website pilotpen.com
Pilot Corporation (????????????????? Kabushiki Gaisha Pairotto Koporeshon, TYO:
7846) is a Japanese pen manufacturer based in Tokyo, Japan. It produces writing
instruments, stationery and jewelry, but is best known for its pens.[1]

It is the largest pen manufacturer in Japan, with competition globally from other
pen companies like Japanese Pentel Co. and American Paper Mate. Pilot has many
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 US. Namiki, Pilot's fountain pens with maki-
e lacquering designs, are made in the Hiratsuka factory.

Contents
1 History
2 Fountain pens
3 Pens from Recycled Bottles
4 Products
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
History
In 1915, Ryosuke Namiki (????), a professor from Tokyo Nautical College in Japan,
left his job to find a small factory near Tokyo to produce gold pen nibs.[2] In
1916, Namiki expanded his product line and became a full-fledged manufacturer of
writing instruments.[2]

The Pilot Pen Corporation was founded by Ryosuke Namiki with Masao Wada (????) in
1918 under the name of the Namiki Manufacturing Company.[2]

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 to 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 2018 Pilot celebrated the company's 100th anniversary with a number of special
pages to its website and special edition pens.[3]
Fountain pens
In 1963[4], 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.

There are a series of higher end pens that bear the name of "Custom" or "Custom
Heritage" and a two or three digit number. "Custom" models are cigar-shaped, while
"Custom Heritage" models have flat tops and bottoms. The number is based on the
year of introduction (from the foundation of the company�the Custom 74 was
introduced in 1992) for models with two digits, while the third digit on models
with three digits represents a list price when multiplied by �10,000.

Pens from Recycled Bottles

Pilot Corporation published some ecological facts about its pens in 2015.[5] The
most eco-friendly is the Bottle-2-Pen (B2P) which is made of 90.4% recycled
components. [6] PET plastic from bottles are used for much of it, so it is
sometimes nicknamed the 'PetPen' or 'PetBall'.

Products
The following table contains the Pilot product lines as of November 2018.[7]

Category Range of products

Fountain Pens Varsity, Plumix, Metropolitan, Prera, Custom 823, Custom Heritage
92, E95s, Falcon, Justus 95, Kak�no,
Metal Falcon, Stargazer, Vanishing Point, Custom 912, Sterling Silver, D�cimo
Collection

Rollerballs Precise (Hi-Tecpoint) V5/V7, VBall

Ballpoint pens Bottle 2 Pen, EasyTouch, DownForce, Metropolitan, Dr. Grip,
Better Ball Point, BP-1, RedGrip, EasyTouch Mini, Acroball
Gel ink pens G2 (Standard, Fashion, BCA, Metallics, Mosaic, PenStylus,
Limited, Pro, Mini), FriXion Ball (Standard, Clicker, LX, Point), G6, GKnock,
Metropolitan (Standard, Animal, Retro Pop Collection), Dr. Grip (Standard, Gel,
Limited), Bottle 2 Pen (Standard, Colors), Sterling Silver, Ageless, G-Tec-C, Neo-
Gel, Juice (Pop'lol), Precise Gel, Precise P-500/P-700, Q7, Juice Up
Marker pens Razor Point, Razor Point II, Fineliner, V Razor Point, BraVo!
Highlighters FriXion Light, Spotliter Supreme, Spotliter, FriXion Light
Pastel, Markliter
Mechanical pencils Dr. Grip (Center of Gravity, Limited edition), G2 Pencil,
Dr. Grip 4+1 Multi-Function, RexGrip, Progrex, The Shaker, EasyTouch, Mogulair
Inks Iroshizuku line

Pilot Petit1 fountain pen.

Dr. Grip gel pen.

A 0.25 mm Pilot Hi-Tec-C gel pen used to take very compact class notes.

FriXion erasable pens whose gel ink becomes transparent by friction heat
G-2 ball pen

FriXion ball pen

B2P Bottle-2-Pen 90% Recycled Ballpoint PetPen

See also
Industry5.svg Companies portal
References
Chicago Tribune. Patterson, Troy. 2017.
"Pilot Pen: History", Pilot website.
"Pilot 100th Anniversay Site". Retrieved 20 August 2019.
Pilot Vanishing Point Unsharpen.com
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pilot-pen-offers-alternative-for-trashed-
water-bottles-the-worlds-first-pen-made-from-recycled-bottles-300070268.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcxWXY1sIn8&feature=youtu.be&t=209
Pilot pen website
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pilot Corporation.
Pilot global portal
Pilot Corporation, Japan (in Japanese)
Pilot Pen USA
Pilot Pen Argentina
vte
Fountain pen manufacturers by country
Authority control Edit this at Wikidata
NDL: 001201326VIAF: 316391319WorldCat Identities (via VIAF): 316391319
Categories: Fountain pen and ink manufacturersManufacturing companies based in
TokyoOffice supply companies of JapanPen manufacturersJapanese
stationeryManufacturing companies established in 1918Companies listed on the Tokyo
Stock ExchangeJapanese brandsJapanese companies established in 1918Midori-kai