Pelikan Holding

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Pelikan Holding AG

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN CH0006328758
founding April 28, 1838
Seat Schindellegi SZ SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland 
management Loo Hooi Keat
( CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors )
Number of employees 1,264 (December 31, 2014)
sales 285.8 million CHF (2014)
Branch PBS
Website www.pelikan.com

The Pelikan Holding AG goes back to a 1838 in Hannover as a manufacturer of writing ink and artists' colors based firm back. This produces devices and materials from almost the entire range of office supplies . The company's fountain pens are particularly well known, especially among schoolchildren . In 2013, the group of companies employed 1,062 people and generated sales of 184.3 million Swiss francs . The company was listed on the Swiss stock exchange until March 2, 2015 SIX Swiss Exchange listed .

The parent company of Pelikan Holding AG , Pelikan International Corporation Berhad (PICB), is listed on the Malaysian stock exchange . As of December 31, 2014, Pelikan Holding AG transferred its operational business to Herlitz AG , which today operates under the name of Pelikan Group GmbH . At the Pelican Group GmbH Pelikan Holding holds 38.3%, other 27.1% is owned by the Pelikan International Corporation Berhad. In addition to the Pelikan and Herlitz brands, the Geha and Susy Card brands also belong to the group. The majority shareholder of the group is the Malaysian entrepreneur Loo Hooi Keet, who also acts as CEO .

history

Founder Carl Hornemann

founding

The company goes back to a paint and ink factory founded around 1832 by the chemist Carl Hornemann (1811–1896) in Groß Munzel near Hanover . The official founding date is April 28, 1838, the day on which business operations began. Hornemann was the son of a drawing shop owner and drawing teacher at the court of King George V in Hanover. Hornemann came up with his business idea because artist paints were introduced from France and England at that time. Around 1840 Hornemann relocated the company headquarters to Hanover-Hainholz . The production conditions were initially modest. In a rented residential building on Engelbosteler Damm (in today's Nordstadt district ), goods were packed on the ground floor from 1842 onwards. A laboratory was operated in the outbuildings and the ink was boiled.

Around 1860 the company employed around 20 people, including a chemist. The products initially met with little response because of foreign competition. To win customers, Carl Hornemann traveled a lot and also advertised his products through business trips to Austria. In 1877 the first production facility abroad was established in Austria. Hornemann belonged to the Senate of the city of Hanover from 1864 and was also a member of the Prussian House of Representatives.

Trademark Pelikan

After Hornemann left in 1871, the previous plant manager, the chemist Günther Wagner (1842–1930), took over the company and in 1878 used the pelican , his family's heraldic animal, as the company's trademark . Like the family crest, the company symbol showed a pelican with originally three cubs in the nest. When the company owner had a fourth child, the number of boys was increased to four. In order to make the symbol more recognizable, the number was reduced to two boys in a design by the graphic artist Oskar Werner Hermann Hadank in 1937 . Since 2003 the trademark has only shown a youngster. The pelican, which tears its chest open in order to nourish its young with its blood, an ancient symbol of helpfulness and a sense of family, should convey this impression to customers. Initially used only for children's products, it also became popular in the company's other products. Günther Wagner was one of the first industrialists to recognize the advantages of a trademark. This was the basis for the breakthrough at home and abroad. From the 1880s onwards, the company expanded and now has around 40 employees. The business trips of the commercial agent Fritz Beindorff , who was hired in 1881, to what was then Austria-Hungary contributed to this, opening up the markets of southern Europe and the Balkans . Beindorff became an authorized signatory in 1887 , and in 1888 he married Günther Wagner's daughter, Elisabeth. Since 1895 he was the sole owner of the company through purchase.

Early products

In the early years, the company's range of products included study paints, children's paints and artists' watercolors . Another product was liquid ink , which had previously only been available as a solid stick ink .

From 1895 onwards, the range was increasingly expanded and, in addition to the inks produced up until then, also included other office supplies . In 1898 the iron gall ink “4001” was brought onto the market. As a document ink, it became the best-selling ink in the world for the next several years because it did not fade. Because of its authenticity, it was also preferred by state authorities. In 1904 the paper adhesive Pelikanol , which was used until the 1980s, was introduced.

Factory expansion

Former company premises on Podbielskistraße, today Pelikanviertel

Despite a significant expansion of the company premises in Hainholz in 1899, it turned out to be too small. In 1906 a new factory was built in what was then Klein-Buchholz . The facility on Podbielskistraße , which is now part of the List district, initially employed 400 people. Large-scale production buildings were created in a construction that was revolutionary at the time. Due to the pure reinforced concrete construction , the factory was considered the largest reinforced concrete structure in Germany at the time. The facade design in neo-baroque and art nouveau was adapted to the rural surroundings of the factory. It was conspicuously designed with white surfaces and red brick, which gave it an almost picturesque character. Due to the largely wood-free construction, also on the roofs, there was hardly any fire damage during the bombing during the Second World War .

Business expansion

Until the First World War , the production facility in Hanover was expanded rapidly, and soon more than 1,000 workers were employed. Production took place under modern conditions in which employees were made to work as pleasantly as possible. It was worked in high rooms with large windows and indirect lighting and ventilation. The social facilities for employees were also considered exemplary. From 1912 the magazine Der Pelikan was published, which should inspire students and those interested in art and provide art education outside of school . The company sent its sales representatives to remote areas of the world to promote Pelican ink. Therefore, the First World War was a severe setback in the company's expansion. It was not until the 1920s that the company was able to return to its old successful course.

Pelikan fountain pen

Inkwell with Pelikan ink 4001 and Pelikan piston fountain pen

In 1929 the first Pelikan fountain pen as a piston fountain pen was presented with the model 100 . In addition to the larger ink supply, the piston mechanism ensured an even flow of ink and was not smudge-proof. The specialty was that the ink was drawn up with a differential helical gear. External trademarks were the green marbled band and the partially transparent ink window. In the upper price segment, Pelikan's first Toledo fountain pen appeared in 1931 . In 1938, at the 100th anniversary of the company, Pelikan employed 3,700 people. By the outbreak of the Second World War , the company employed almost 5,000 people and had factories in many European countries and in South America (Brazil). The Second World War with the general shortage of goods severely restricted the product range and replacement products were offered. Due to the labor shortage, more women were initially employed, but also prisoners of war and forced laborers. One consequence of the war for the company was that the company branches located abroad were lost through expropriation.

In the years after the Second World War, Pelikan experienced an economic boom and developed into a leading company in the industry. This was mainly due to the Pelikan 400 fountain pen introduced in 1950 , which became known as the Stresemann . He had a shaft with green / transparent striped bandages. The name goes back to the striped trousers of the Stresemann suit , which is named after the German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann . From now on, fountain pens were one of the best-known products from Pelikan AG . In addition to the green / transparent version, there was also a brown / black / transparent version, which is still very often offered on collectors' portals today. This fountain pen has been modified again and again since the 1950s and is still offered in a heavily modified form today. In the 1980s, Pelikan expanded this series with the M 600 and M 800 fountain pens and combined these models into the so-called “Souverän” series, which is aimed primarily at customers with the highest writing demands. The M 150 to M 250 series is lower in price and differs from the Souverän series primarily in that it is equipped with a stainless steel spring. Writing instruments from the “Souverän” series have bi-color gold nibs in 14 (585) or 18 carat (750). Pelikan is one of the few manufacturers who also make the nibs for fountain pens themselves. In the 1990s, the “Souverän” series was expanded to include the largest M 1000 model. It was also at this time that the production of limited editions ( limited or special editions) began, which are characterized by the fact that they pay homage to certain occasions, models or locations .

In 1960 the Pelikano school fountain pen came onto the market. At the beginning of the 1970s, pedagogues with the help of Pelikan developed the simplified output script, some of which was incorporated into the curriculum.

Further products

Poster for ink, tape and carbon paper ;
El Lissitzky , 1929

The production of office supplies began in 1890, as the economic boom of the early years led to a sharp increase in administrative work. In 1904, ribbons for typewriters were produced for the first time , and a few years later carbon paper for copies was also produced. Already at this time the company got into duplication technology, which was only successful until the advent of the photocopier at the end of the 1960s.

From 1931 Pelikan also produced opaque paint boxes , from 1934 also the well-known PLAKA decorative and hobby paints . In the 1950s, the company began to expand again, and the fountain pens were continuously developed. A major innovation was the ink killer , which came on the market in 1972 as the ink tiger .

Advertising campaigns

Fritz Beindorff, as the owner of Pelikan, was one of the first entrepreneurs who sought collaboration with well-known artists for his merchandise advertising. In 1898 he initiated his contest for a poster for artists colors. In the following years further competitions followed, in which well-known painters and graphic artists took part, which had a positive effect on the marketing. Award-winning poster designs came from Julius Diez , Ludwig Hohlwein , Rudolf Yelin the Younger , and Theo Matejko . The Russian painter El Lissitzky developed an advertising campaign for Pelikan that went down in design history. Wilhelm Wagenfeld's reclining bottle with the kink has also become a classic.

The artistic work for the application of the products was the subject of a special exhibition of the Historisches Museum Hannover about the Pelikan company in 2008 .

Later years

Pelikan booth at the Didacta 2008 education fair
New Pelikan administration building from 2003 on the Mittelland Canal in Hanover

Around 1968 the name of the trademark was also officially made the company name and the name was changed from Günther Wagner to Pelikan .

From the mid-1970s, the company tried to gain a foothold in the areas of office printers , copiers ( Lumoprint ), overhead projectors , data carriers , cosmetics and games through equity investments and subsidiaries . In 1978 Pelikan GmbH was converted into a stock corporation and completely restructured. At that time it had 40 subsidiaries that also produced outside the industry . Initially, the shares were only held by members of the Beindorff family. The TKKG series of books for young people published by the company's own publishing house between 1979 and 2004 was successful .

In 1982 Pelikan AG , which had stumbled due to massive expansion , had to register a settlement . In 1984, Pelikan AG was taken over by Condorpart AG , based in Zug, Switzerland , and partially broken up , a third of the workforce had to leave. The Herlitz was now part of the Switzerland from operating holding company Pelikan Holding AG , which was launched in 1986 in Switzerland on the stock market. In 1990 the competitor Geha in Hanover was taken over and part of the production relocated to their factories. In 1994 the printer accessories division was spun off into the independent Pelikan Hardcopy , which was sold to the US company Nucote in 1995 .

In 1994, the entire production was relocated from the Hanover plant to the Peine - Vöhrum plant, where writing implements had been made since 1973 . 1100 jobs were lost as a result. Starting in 1993, the factory premises in Hanover were converted into the Pelikanviertel , an upscale area with condominiums, restaurants, hotels and business premises. In 2003 the company administration also left the Pelikan district and moved into new buildings not far from the Mittelland Canal .

Logo of the acquired Herlitz product business

In 1996, the Malaysian company Goodace SDN BHD (now trading as Pelikan International Corporation Berhad ) took over the majority of shares in Pelikan Holding. In January 2007, Pelikan Holding took over again Pelikan Hardcopy Holding, which was spun off in 1994, and German Hardcopy AG . In 2010, Pelikan International Corporation Berhad (PICB), based in Puchong, Selangor in Malaysia, took over the stationery manufacturer Herlitz, including the Falkensee logistics center, and transferred its stationery business to Pelikan on March 1, 2014. Since then Herlitz AG has concentrated on services .

After the delisting of the Pelikan Holding share on March 2, 2015, the share was included in over-the-counter trading by Valora Effekten Handel and Schnigge Wertpapierhandelsbank on April 1, 2015 . The free float shareholders can still trade their shares here. ISIN CH0006328758 remained unchanged. The current parent company Pelikan International Corporation Berhad is also listed; its shares are traded on Bursa Malaysia under ISIN MYL5231OO005.

Well-known products from Pelikan AG

Other personalities in the company's history

Known users

  • The American cartoonist and MAD draftsman Sergio Aragonés uses a Pelikan fountain pen for his drawings and cartoons.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Pelikan (company)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Pelikan Holding AG: Annual Report 2014 (PDF) Retrieved on May 1, 2015 .
  2. Delisting of Pelikan bearer shares on SIX 2015. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 20, 2016 ; accessed on May 20, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.six-group.com
  3. Small investors feel “lied to and betrayed” by Pelikan owners. Report in the daily Handelsblatt dated October 25, 2018, accessed on October 27, 2018
  4. Hainholz according to the company's website. However, Engelbosteler Damm is located in the (present-day) district of Nordstadt . A clarification should result from the address book of the city of Hanover .
  5. ^ Waldemar R. Röhrbein : Günther Wagner - Pelikan works. In: Stadtlexikon Hannover , p. 240f.
  6. ^ A b Conrad von Meding: Company history: Pelikan celebrates its 175th birthday . Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung , April 27, 2013, p. 17.
  7. ^ Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, edition of September 15, 2006.
  8. History of Pelikan AG .
  9. Report at heute.de November 6th, 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.heute.de  
  10. PBS Business: Pelikan takes over Herlitz parts. December 19, 2013, accessed April 18, 2014 .
  11. Herlitz AG website .
  12. VALORA EFFEKTEN HANDEL AG prices for the Pelikan Holding share. Retrieved May 20, 2016 .
  13. Exchange rate table for SCHNIGGE Wertpapierhandelsbank SE. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 20, 2016 ; accessed on May 20, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.schnigge.de
  14. ^ Pelikan International Corporation Bhd. at the Bursa Malaysia. Retrieved May 20, 2016 .
  15. ^ Waldemar R. Röhrbein : Beindorff, (4) Martha. In: Stadtlexikon Hannover , p. 55f.
  16. Homepage of Sergio Aragones, page "Ask Sergio"