Faber-Castell

Faber-Castell was founded in 1761 in Stein, Germany, when Caspar Faber set up a business to manufacture pencils to sell in the Nuremberg market. The company grew during the second generation under Anton Wilhelm Faber, but struggled in the third  generation under the guidance of Georg Leonhard Faber.

In 1839, the company truly began to flourish under the leadership of Lothar von Faber. Lothar was responsible for inventing the hexagonal pencil, as  well as developing standards for pencil length, thickness and hardness. He was the first manufacturer to mark products with the name of the company, thus introducing the concept of branding with the “A.W. Faber” pencils.

Lothar von Faber was a visionary with the goal of “[rising] to the highest position by producing the best that can be made in the whole world.” He expanded the company into international markets, founding  subsidiaries in New York (1849), London (1851), and Paris (1855). The company began to gain worldwide recognition through the international sales network.  In 1861, the centenary was celebrated with the opening of another factory at Geroldsgrun, in Bavaria.

Lothar’s son Wilhelm took over the company in 1877, but died at a young age. Lothar stepped in to  run the company again until his granddaughter, Ottilie von Faber, joined  the company. When Ottilie married Count Alexander zu Castell-Rudenhausen, a new family title was obtained based on a stipulation in Lothar’s will that all successors bear the name Faber.  Thus we have the introduction of Count and Countess Faber-Castell, with Count Alexander taking over leadership of the Faber-Castell company in 1900.

In 1903, the couple decided to build a castle near  the factory in Stein. The towers, windows, and masonry are reminiscent of medievalcastles, with many Art Nouveau details on the interior. The castle remained unscathed during the two world wars, but  the Faber-Castell family ceased to occupy it as a residence in 1939. During World War II, the castle was requisitioned by German armed forces, and in 1945,  it was occupied by the Allied troops and subsequently used to house lawyers and journalists during the  Nuremberg war-crime trials.

Afterward, the castle was empty for several decades, until it was reopened to the public as part of Faber-Castell’s 225-year anniversary celebrations. Nowadays the castle is used  for cultural events, meetings and the Artists Academy. In 1905, Count Alexander introduced the famous Castell 9000 pencil, now celebrating its hundredth anniversary. This product is a testament to Faber-Castell’s high  standards of quality and adherence to tradition. The Castell 9000 pencil contains superior graphite lead, available in sixteen grades of hardness. In 1928, Count Roland took over the company upon the death of his father.

Expansion continued with the acquisition of the Johann Faber  factory in Brazil (founded by Lothar’s brother Johann), as well as the  founding of factories in Australia, Austria, Argentina  and Peru. The factory in Brazil is the world’s largest manufacturer of colored pencils. Expansion has continued with the eighth-generation family member to run the company and its  current chairman and CEO, Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell. Under his leadership the company has founded factories in Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China and the Czech Republic.

In 1978, Faber-Castell  began  producing private-label pencils for the cosmetics industry, a new area of business that continues to be successful. The brand’s Environmental aspects  have come to the fore of company policy under the Count. In the mid-1980s, a unique forestry project was started in Brazil to  help with conservation efforts. It provides the company with reforested wood to use for many of its pencil products.

In 1992, Faber-Castell became the first pencil manufacturer to use an environmentally friendly water-based coating on its products. Other socially aware steps the company has taken in recent years include the signing of a Social Charter in 2000  that, among other things, insures safe working conditions and equal opportunity.

In 1999, Faber-Castell acquired Creativity for Kids,  the leading specialty manufacturer of children’s craft kits in the USA, to facilitate expansion of the company’s portfolio of product lines in the U.S. Recently Faber-Castell USA developed a Creativity Center to provide a forum for the various Faber-Castell companies to work together on the global product development of craft products. The company’s product range comprises the following fields of competence: Playing & Learning, Art & Graphic, Design, Graf von Faber-Castell, General Writing, and Marking.

Playing & Learning, also known as the Red Range, consists of art materials for children age three to 12. These crayons, pencils, markers  and  other items are developed to stimulate children’s natural creativity and  are designed with ergonomics and safety in mind.

The Art & Graphic range  covers professional art materials that are world renowned for their quality. A new addition to this range is Creative Studio, a line of products designed for older students, aspiring artists and hobby crafters.

The Design series of writing instruments is noted for its use of wood and metal and for its contemporary design,  while the Graf von Faber-Castell brand of writing instruments and accessories is exclusive and luxurious, using precious metals and other unusual materials such as amber and mammoth ivory.

General  Writing covers products for office and home use,  with an eye towards combining function and design. An example is the GRIP family of products, with a  unique grip zone and triangular design. The Marking range includes highlighters and the Multimark pens that write on a variety of surfaces.

Faber-Castell is one of the world’s oldest manufacturing companies and employs more than 5,000 workers worldwide. There are 15 Faber-Castell production companies worldwide and 18 sales companies, with  sales agents operating in 120 countries. The company  is the world’s largest pencil manufacturer, producing 1.8 billion wood-cased pencils each year.

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