Marking 40 years of Faber-Castell
THE STORY of Faber-Castell AG goes beyond stationery. Founded in 1761 at Stein near Nuremberg by cabinet maker Kaspar Faber (1730-1784), the company still remains with the family nine generations down the line, and is one of the most enduring global brands in the world today.
Faber-Castell AG currently operates factories in nine countries with 23 sales units in Europe, Asia, North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. It even has its own line of cosmetics.
The Malaysian subsidiary was founded 40 years ago in 1978 by the late Count Anton von FaberCastell, with help from Dr Toh Yan Peng, the current managing director.
Faber-Castell Malaysia is now the country’s leading producer and supplier of high quality stationery products, as well as the world’s largest eraser manufacturer.
On an annual basis, it produces 180 million ballpoint pens and gel pens, as well as over 200 million pieces of erasers for local and export markets.
Other products include gel pens, highlighters, markers, and removable adhesives.
On March 15, Faber-Castell Malaysia celebrated its 40th anniversary here at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
Present at the event was the late count’s wife, Countess Mary von Faber-Castell, who is a member of Faber-Castell AG executive board.
She told the press earlier that “the reason we are celebrating is due to the good judgement of both [the count and Toh] to form Faber-Castell Malaysia”.
Faber-Castell AG CEO Daniel Rogger, who was also at the celebration, said that although running a stationery company in the digital era is a challenge, they also see it as an opportunity.
He pointed to new trends such as handlettering, or the bullet journals (a combination of to-do list and artistic doodling) that helped keep sales stable.
Rogger added that the recent craze for adult colouring books has also helped push up sales.
In fact, colour pencils remain the company’s biggest sellers.
During the dinner that night, Toh proudly announced the opening of Faber-Castell Malaysia’s 90,000sq ft distribution centre located at Subang Jaya. – S. Indra Sathiabalan