Anton Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Kastel, president of the German Book Manufacturing Corporation of the same name, says that regardless of the Internet, mobile phone messages and computers that can be carried in one hand, modest pencils still have a future.
"Everything has its role without replacing its last place," adds the head of the family company, which celebrates its 240th anniversary this year. "We believe that the pencil is the nucleus of creative effort."
Nevertheless, Faber-Castell has yet to respond to market changes by constantly introducing renewable products. "We must gradually reduce our dependence on the office equipment sector," says Graf von Faber-Kastel.
The demand for writing tools has become stagnant in industrialized countries and the industry is facing great pressure from competitors in Asian countries on the price side.
According to the Nuremberg Institute for Market Studies, sales of high-quality ink pens fell by 45 percent between 1995 and 2000. During this period, the number of pens sold in Germany decreased by 340,000.
Graf von Faber-Kastel says the company is preparing to move further to the market for creative tools such as pens and tools used in the formation of hobbies for adults and children alike.
Last year, the company bought Creative Kids for coloring and other products to ensure a growth base for new products it plans to offer. The company, which includes seventy employees in Cleveland, Ohio.
Faber-Castell produces 1.8 million pencils and pencils a year, making it the world's largest manufacturer of wooden pencils.
The company produces two thousand different products. The company suffered a setback in 1999 when the company's sales figure dropped to 505 million marks ($ 219 million), down 6.4 percent due to the very low value of the Brazilian currency. But since then, the company has seen an improvement in sales. Since then, however, the company's business has been rebounding. In the last fiscal year 2000/2001, the company was able to "easily" exceed its target sales of 600 million DM ($ 260 million) Higher than the average sales in the industry.
Faber-Castell has 80 percent of its sales outside Germany. Pencils and pencils account for one-third of the company's sales, while eyeglasses, eyelid shading, lipstick and other cosmetics for the company's luxury businesses account for 12 percent of sales. The company has 15 production sites in different parts of the world.
"Everything has its role without replacing its last place," adds the head of the family company, which celebrates its 240th anniversary this year. "We believe that the pencil is the nucleus of creative effort."
Nevertheless, Faber-Castell has yet to respond to market changes by constantly introducing renewable products. "We must gradually reduce our dependence on the office equipment sector," says Graf von Faber-Kastel.
The demand for writing tools has become stagnant in industrialized countries and the industry is facing great pressure from competitors in Asian countries on the price side.
According to the Nuremberg Institute for Market Studies, sales of high-quality ink pens fell by 45 percent between 1995 and 2000. During this period, the number of pens sold in Germany decreased by 340,000.
Graf von Faber-Kastel says the company is preparing to move further to the market for creative tools such as pens and tools used in the formation of hobbies for adults and children alike.
Last year, the company bought Creative Kids for coloring and other products to ensure a growth base for new products it plans to offer. The company, which includes seventy employees in Cleveland, Ohio.
Faber-Castell produces 1.8 million pencils and pencils a year, making it the world's largest manufacturer of wooden pencils.
The company produces two thousand different products. The company suffered a setback in 1999 when the company's sales figure dropped to 505 million marks ($ 219 million), down 6.4 percent due to the very low value of the Brazilian currency. But since then, the company has seen an improvement in sales. Since then, however, the company's business has been rebounding. In the last fiscal year 2000/2001, the company was able to "easily" exceed its target sales of 600 million DM ($ 260 million) Higher than the average sales in the industry.
Faber-Castell has 80 percent of its sales outside Germany. Pencils and pencils account for one-third of the company's sales, while eyeglasses, eyelid shading, lipstick and other cosmetics for the company's luxury businesses account for 12 percent of sales. The company has 15 production sites in different parts of the world.