Berol

Berol
Formerly
  • Eagle Pencil Company
    (1856–1969)
  • Berol Corporation
    (1969–2010) [1]
Company type
Privately held company (1856–1995)
Subsidiary (1995–2010)
Brand (2010–present)
IndustryStationery
Founded1856
FounderDaniel Berolzheimer
FateCompany acquired by Newell Rubbermaid in 1995, then closed in 2010. Berol survived as a brand.
Headquarters
Lichfield
,
England
ProductsWriting implements, art materials
OwnerNewell Brands (2010)[2]
SubsidiariesOsmiroid International[1]

Berol (stylised as Bẽrol) is a British stationery brand of Newell Brands and former stationery manufacturing company, based in Lichfield, Staffordshire. The company was established in 1856 and manufactured a wide range of products including writing implements and art materials. It was acquired by Sanford L.P. in 1995, a division of Newell Brands, becoming a subsidiary of it until the last factory closed in 2010. Since then, Berol has survived as a brand of imported products, though the head office remains in Lichfield.[3]

Berol's product lines included art materials such as acrylics, pastels, oil pastels, inks, crayons, adhesives, and other mediums; while the writing instruments line included pencils, colored pencils, pens, and markers.[4]

History

The Eagle Pencil Company was founded by Franconian immigrant Daniel Berolzheimer from Fürth[5][6] in 1856 opening a pencil shop in New York City and a factory in Yonkers. The company extended its business opening office, warehouse, and showrooms in London in 1894.[7]

Eagle Pencil Co. ad, c. 1900

Eagle Pencil also opened a factory in Tottenham, that started operating towards the end of 1907. The outbreak of the World War II in 1939 saw the factory pause pencil manufacture and instead produce secret military equipment. Pencil manufacture recommenced in 1946.

The company opened a purpose built factory on the Hardwick Industrial Estate in King's Lynn, Norfolk in 1967. A series of post-war corporate acquisitions meant that the Eagle Pencil name was no longer appropriate and the company name was changed to "Berol" in 1969, taking the owner's now-shortened surname.[1] Berol's head office remained at the Tottenham factory until the need for extra production space prompted a move to Whetstone, London, and then to King's Lynn in 1978.

Chairman Kenneth Berol announced the family's intention to sell the company in 1986 as there was no sixth generation family successor. The following year, it was acquired by the Empire Pencil Corporation of Tennessee.[1]

The company decided to close the Tottenham factory in February 1992, and moved some production to King's Lynn. Newell Company acquired the Berol Corporation in 1995, being placed in its Sanford division.

The King's Lynn factory closed in 2003 with 230 redundancies.[8] From 2010, all products under the name "Berol" were imported goods. The Lichfield factory is now the UK address for the Newell Group.

Products

During the 1980s, Berol secured a contract to supply the BBC with standard writing instruments as well as a broad range of promotional pens, highlighters, and permanent markers.

During the 1990s, Berol produced a US-made line of pencils, folders, erasers, and notebooks called Yikes!, featuring bright "wacky" designs.[9]

In 2018, Berol listed their products, branded as "Berol by Paper Mate".[4] Categories included colouring pens, markers, colouring pencils, craft products, drywipe markers & pens, writing pens and pencils.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Berol History on Berol website (archived), 8 Nov 2016
  2. ^ Berol trademark name
  3. ^ https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00104102
  4. ^ a b All products on Berol website (archived), 24 Feb 2018
  5. ^ Theodor Lemke (1891). "Geschichte des Deutschthums von New York von 1848 bis auf die Gegenwart · Band 1". books.google.de (in German). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Bleistiftfabrik Berolzheimer und Illfelder". www.fuerthwiki.de (in German). FürthWiki e. V. – Verein für freies Wissen und Stadtgeschichte, 90705 Fürth (Germany). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Emile Albert Berol, 81, A Pencil Manufacturer", The New York Times Obituaries, 9 Oct 1993
  8. ^ "Jobs hope after King’s Lynn businessman buys Berol site" Archived 2014-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Lynn News, 10 Feb 2014
  9. ^ "Scool Stuff". Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Magazine: 8. Fall 1995. ISSN 1077-4483.
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