Caran d'Ache (company)
| Caran d'Ache SA
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | AG |
| ISIN | CH0001570057 |
| founding | 1924 |
| Seat |
Thônex , GE , Switzerland
|
| Branch | Stationery |
| Website | www.carandache.ch |
Caran d'Ache is a Swiss company based in Thônex in the canton of Geneva . It mainly produces writing implements: pencils , colored pencils , ballpoint pens ; this for school, artist and luxury needs. Caran d'Ache is the only Swiss company in this sector.
company
Caran d'Ache was founded in 1924 by Arnold Schweitzer after he had bought the "Fabrique de Crayons Ecridor", a pencil manufacturing company founded in 1915. The company operates under the name of "Fabrique Suisse de Crayons Caran d'Ache", after the pseudonym Caran d'Ache ( Russian карандаш , karandasch "pencil") by the famous French artist Emmanuel Poiré . The Russian word is supposed to be derived from the Turkish kara (black) and tasch (stone, slate).
Joseph Reiser and Henri Hübscher, who were previously active in and involved in the company, took over Caran d'Ache in 1947. In June 2012, the owner Jacques Hübscher handed over management to his daughter Carole Hübscher . Production took place in the city of Geneva in the Eaux-Vives district on rue de la Terrassière until 1974 ; since then the company has been based in Thônex on the French border.
Because of its privileged position in supplying schools with stationery, the company is one of the best known in Switzerland. The company remained limited to the Swiss market until the 1990s. Since then it has developed an expansive strategy and established branches in Germany, France, the USA, Japan and Dubai. The internationalized appearance also includes sales efforts in airport shops and the emphasis on “Swiss-made” as a quality certificate. At the beginning of the 21st century, sales were around one hundred million Swiss francs.
production
Caran d'Ache manufactures exclusively in Thônex, Switzerland. 90% of the wood for the pens is FSC certified; the wood chips are burned to save fuel oil. The graphite leads are made from natural raw material; Natural binders are used for the colored pencils and crayons .
Caran d'Ache is divided into three product groups:
- Writing utensils for office supplies: pencils (since the foundation), ballpoint pens (since 1950) etc.
- Colored pencils and products for artists: water- soluble colored pencils ( Prismalo since 1931), other light-resistant colored pencils, chalk pens, pastel colors and pastel pencils ( Neocolor based on wax oil since 1952, Neopastel based on oil since 1985, Neoart Aquarelle based on wax since 1999), paints for watercolors and oil painting.
- Luxury pen: pen holder , pen, mine clerk and accessories made of precious materials since the 1950s.
The fixpencil
In 1930, the company launched a mechanical pen designed by the Geneva engineer Carl Schmid under the Fixpencil brand . The Fixpencil was the first mechanical pencil with a clamping mechanism that made it possible to use leads of different diameters. The shell was initially made of Bakelite , later of metal. In addition to the version for pencils, there is also a wider version for wax crayons .
In 2005, Swiss Post dedicated the 2.20-franc mark in its series on the subject of Swiss design to the Fixpencil, where this was next to the 1-franc mark with the “ Landi chair ” by Hans Coray and the 85-centime mark with the Swiss The station clock , the 50 centimes stamp with the “ Riri ” zipper and the 15 centimes stamp with the “ Rex ” peeler come into play .
Web links
- Caran d'Ache website
- Jean de Senarclens: Caran d'Ache. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
swell
- ^ «Reagan and Gorbachev wrote world history with us». In: derbund.ch. June 2, 2012, accessed January 14, 2020 .
- ^ Caran d'Ache: 50 ans et une nouvelle usine. ( Memento of April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Journal de Genève , October 17, 1974
- ↑ Colored pencils and fine pens for the world. Tages-Anzeiger , October 1, 2007.
Coordinates: 46 ° 11 '37.68 " N , 6 ° 12' 35.85" E ; CH1903: five hundred and five thousand one hundred fifty / 116560