STAEDTLER: HOW TO MAKE A WORLD-FAMOUS COMPANY OUT OF A PENCIL
It all started with a pencil. STAEDTLER is now one of Europe's largest manufacturers of writing equipment and is also one of the oldest industrial companies in Germany. STAEDTLER exports its products from Nuremberg – the heart of the Group – to 150 countries.
He intended his products to go right round the world. By establishing this objective back in 1835, Johann Sebastian Staedtler also laid the foundation stone for today's STAEDTLER Group. In 1853 the Nuremberg-based pencil maker successfully exhibited his products at the New York World Exhibition. Only a few years later the quality of these German products were greatly appreciated in Austria, France, England, Italy, Russia, America and Asia. More than two million pencils were manufactured by 54 workers. Fascination with pencils was a family trait for Johann Sebastian Staedtler. Long before he established his own factory in 1835, the occupation of one of his ancestors, Friedrich Staedtler, was recorded as "pencil maker". This was in 1662 and represents the first documentary mention of Friedrich Staedtler in the annals of the City of Nuremberg. His descendants also continued in the family occupation. The generations between Friedrich and Johann Sebastian Staedtler also remained true to the pencil maker's craft.
From the idea to the pencil
The inventive talent of Johann Sebastian Staedtler continues to shape the company even up to the present day. The company continuously generated new ideas which transformed the STAEDTLER pencil into the pencil of choice. Starting with the invention of the coloured oil pastel pencil which "can be sharpened to a point just like a pencil" (1834), going on to the invention of the OHP marker (1964) and moving on to the first coextruded pencils (2009) and coloured pencils (2015) made from WOPEX material, an innovative material made from wood chips, which are produced as a by-product in the wood industry. STAEDTLER has been labelling these products "Made from Upcycled Wood" since 2022. The combination of tradition and innovative skills remain a firm feature of the corporate culture today.
Making a mark everywhere in the world
STAEDTLER has remained true to the company founder's roots in Franconia, northern Bavaria. The Nuremberg Head Office is the heart of this writing equipment manufacturer and its largest site. The complete Lumocolor and triplus ranges and almost all coloured leads and pencil leads are manufactured here as well as all STAEDTLER inks and a major part of the company's ink-based writing instruments. STAEDTLER currently employs more than 2,200 people in 26 countries across the world, of which approx. 1,200 in Germany. STAEDTLER is located in 26 countries and maintains a strong market presence in over 150 countries around the globe. It is therefore Europe's largest manufacturer of wood-cased pencils, OHP pens and modelling clay.