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120 years of Noris: World famous stationery brand celebrates its birthday

120 years of Noris: World famous stationery brand celebrates its birthday
10 min

The Noris brand will celebrate its 120th birthday on 10 September 2021. The success story of the brand, which is particularly well-known for school products, started with its registration at the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin over a century ago. Today Noris represents a diverse range of products from Nuremberg stationery and creative goods manufacturer STAEDTLER. The Noris 120 yellow and black striped pencil is a world-famous brand classic.

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Noris was registered on 10 September 1901. Today, its name is not only found on pencils, such as the world-renowned Noris 120, but also on a variety of products for the pencil case and beyond.

Image rights: STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG

Yellow and black stripes, mostly with a bright red dipped end – that’s how the Noris pencil stands out in pencil cases all over the world. It is probably the brand’s most well-known representative and, in a lot of families, gave even great-grandparents valuable service in school, leisure time and work. To this day, the Noris 120 is still a loyal companion in the pencil cases of many school starters. The brand’s popular classic is a German export hit, sold in over 80 countries. The brand itself is present in 127 countries. In 2015, Noris even made it into the Guinness Book of Records: with a Noris colour coloured pencil which, at 459.97 metres, was the longest coloured pencil in the world at the time of the record. The record was made possible by the special production process used to manufacture the Noris colour from wood chips and in a single mold instead of using the classic wooden slats.

120 years of diversity

The success story starts in 1901. The brand was launched with its registration at the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin on 10 September. To this day, the brand is connected to its home city of Nuremberg by its name Noris. Today, in addition to the popular pencil, numerous other STAEDTLER products from the Noris brand have the classic stripes, albeit in different colours. These include a variety of innovative children’s and school products such as the Noris colour coloured pencil – sustainably manufactured from wood chips – the Noris junior children’s crayons and pencils for the littlest ones from the age of two or the compact Noris digital jumbo stylus for tablets, smartphones etc.

The Noris range established itself early on as a school brand. The Nuremberg brand has become a huge hit on desks and in school bags around the world. But the range is also known beyond the pencil case. "Whether young or old - Noris is still a lifelong brand for everyone," says Britta Olsen, Head of Brand & Communication at STAEDTLER.

Tried and tested writing instruments are being re-imagined for the digital age. The Noris digital range visually retains the nostalgic charm of the classic Noris pencil but expands it with the new stylus technology for digital use. The Noris digital jumbo in compact jumbo format is also suitable for children.

Image rights: STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG
German export hit: the popular Noris pencil is now sold in over 80 countries. The brand itself is present in 127 countries.

Image rights: STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG

Further information can be found on the Noris birthday website www.staedtler.com/noris as well as in the STAEDTLER Newsroom at STAEDTLER is celebrating the 120th birthday of Noris brand and A small school story – learning to write then and now

STAEDTLER also provides a detailed insight into the manufacturing process of the classic Noris 120 pencil in the video Lead & pencil production at www.staedtler.com/newsroom.

Accompanying press images are available for download here:

STAEDTLER press images

Apply the following copyright when using these images in your publication: ©STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG
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