Kaweco is a German

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

writing implement A writing implement or writing instrument is an object used to produce writing. Writing consists of different figures, lines, and or forms. Most of these items can be also used for other functions such as painting, drawing and technical drawing, ...

s, originally introduced by the Heidelberg Pen Company for its

dip pen A dip pen or nib pen or pen nib usually consists of a metal nib with capillary channels like those of fountain pen nibs, mounted in a handle or holder, often made of wood. Other materials can be used for the holder, including bone, metal and pla ...

s line in 1889. Kaweco became a

public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited liability company whose shares may be fr ...

in 1921, then being taken over by the Knust Woringen and Grube company (KWG), after Kaweco went bankrupt in 1930.KWG
on Fountainpen.it In 1994, the Gutberlet GmbH, a

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protec ...

company based in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, acquired the rights to the "Kaweco" name. The core competency is the production and distribution of fine writing instruments including accessories. Current products under the Kaweco brand include

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

, rollerball,

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals ** Digital camera, which captures and stores digital ...

and dip pens, and

mechanical pencil A mechanical pencil, also clutch pencil, is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its ...

History

The Kaweco brand originated in 1883, when the "Heidelberger Federhalter Fabrik" ("Heidelberg Dip Pen Factory") was founded by the gentlemen Luce and Enßlen in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

.History
on Kaweco website Wooden

s and

fountain pen A fountain pen is a writing instrument which uses a metal nib (pen), nib to apply a Fountain pen ink, water-based ink to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal reservoir to hold ink, eliminating the need to repeat ...

s were produced, while gold nibs manufactured by A. Morton & Co. were imported from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The businessmen Heinrich Koch and Rudolph Weber took over the dip pen factory in 1889 and set-up a new production facility in Handschuhsheim, right outside of

. The products were marked with the brand names Perkeo, Omega, and Kaweco and were stamped with the initials HF, which stands for Heidelberger Federhalterfabrik (Heidelberg dip pen factory). Shortly after, the brand name Kaweco became the company name under which the products are still distributed today. In the year 1909 the first Kaweco safety fountain pen was developed and patented under D.R.G.M 224101, and was strongly advertised. Due to high demand, the distribution of Kaweco writing instruments was expanded. Kaweco opened

subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sa ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, Zurich and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, as well as agencies in many countries all over the World. A 1911 catalog shows a wide range of fountain pens and filling systems. Here it was mentioned for the first time that Kaweco is a pocket fountain pen for ladies, officers, and sportsmen. It is the birth year of the Kaweco Sport. In 1914 Kaweco assumed control over the former parts provider A. Morton & Co., which at the time was the oldest gold nib factory in New York. These assets and equipment were moved to Heidelberg and the production of Kaweco's own gold nibs began. In 1921 Kaweco was reorganized as a PLC (

). Kaweco had an approximate annual production of 130,000 fountain pens and employed 600 people. Lever fountain pens were added to the production. Kaweco pens

In 1929 fountain pen factory Knust, Woringen & Grube from Wiesloch (Aurumia brand) purchased the Kaweco company name, machines, stock, and

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

s. Friedrich Grube would lead the company for the next 30 years. In this year the "KA WE CO"

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

, which is divided into three parts, was developed. This logo is still used today and can be found as a branding on many different products. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a lack of raw materials and manpower nearly led to a complete production shut down. On October 30, 1945, several months after the end of the war, the county commissioner gave permission for Kaweco to resume business. On May 5, 1960, Friedrich Grube Sr. died at the age of 63. His son Wilhelm takes over the company. Under Wilhelm Grube's leadership the design of the product range was modernized and made to look slimmer and streamlined. In 1971 Kaweco launched the Sport set, which included a special jewelry pendant, as a licensed writing instrument of the 20th Olympic Games in Munich. Large companies valued the Kaweco Sport as an advertising medium. In 1994,

company Gutberlet GmbH, based in

, registered the rights to the Kaweco name and brand. A new ''Sport series'', inspired by the design of 1935, was launched. Pocket writing instruments were introduced to the market as fountain pens,

rollerball pen Roller ball pens or roll pens are pens which use ball point writing mechanisms with water-based liquid or gelled ink, as opposed to the oil-based viscous inks found in ballpoint pens. These less viscous inks, which tend to saturate more deepl ...

s, ball pens,

s and clutch pencils. The company Diplomat became the worldwide exclusive sales partner with Kaweco, however in 1999 Diplomat was taken over by Herlitz, leading to an end of this partnership. Since then Kaweco has been increasing its worldwide distribution independently by working closely with domestic partners. Today Kaweco products are available in more than 50 countries.

Company

The success of Kaweco today can be largely attributed to inspiration through historical products of earlier periods. The brand's history and the nostalgic design of its products are deeply intertwined with modern technology. Besides the core business, Kaweco continues to successfully establish itself on the market with co-brandings. Individual pen designs are created with cooperation partners like Supreme New York,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

NOMOS Glashütte NOMOS Glashütte is a economy of Germany, German watchmaking company based in Glashütte, Saxony, which specializes in artisan manual-winding and automatic mechanical watches. It was founded by Roland Schwertner in January 1990, two months after t ...

, Oris., and many others.

Bibliography

*Timo Teufert: ''Der Federhalter schrieb in Heidelberg Geschichte.'' In: ''Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung.'' 16. Dezember 2008. *Andreas Lambrou, Stefan Wallrafen: ''Füllfederhalter - Ein Überblick über die Entstehungsgeschichte und die wichtigsten internationalen Marken.'' Heyne-Verlag, München 1992, . *Gerhard Brandl, Michael Gutberlet: Kaweco - Gutberlet crossing Kaweco. verlag Regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher, 2017. *Andreas Lambrou: Fountain Pens of the world. Classic Pens Ltd., Epping, 1995. *Andreas Lambrou: Fountain Pens - Vintage and modern. Classic Pens Ltd., Epping, 1989. *Michael Gutberlet: Kaweco: ein Stück Geschichte aus der (Schreibgeräte-) Industrie - Sonderanfertigungen 1924 - 1928. Nürnberg, 2016. *Thomas Neureither: Seit 100 Jahren - Füllhalter aus Handschuhsheim. Heidelberg, 1997.

References

External links

* {{Art materials brands German brands Fountain pen and ink manufacturers German companies established in 1883 Companies based in Heidelberg Manufacturing companies established in 1883