Parker's Affiliated Country Of Origin

[Batman]

We all know that Parker was an American brand but most people I know who aren't pen enthusiasts think Parker is British. What happened down the road, isn't the Parker brand the 'main' pen brand for the Queen?

 

Thanks

Brad

[grandpasmurf]

Hi Brad

 

I'm no expert but I believe that you and your friends are both right, it seems for a time Parker was run from here in Blighty after a management buyout (see this website for a bit of info http://parkerpens.net/arrow.html) and the new Duofold has the Queen's royal appointment crest (or at least did have for a while)

 

I believe that Parker is now owned by Nowell-Rubbermaid

 

It's a sad fact of life now that very few companies are actually who they say they are now, and I know that the Newhaven Parker factory has now closed

 

Hope this helps

[Florida Blue]

In a way Parker has been a British brand for many years. Parker began manufacturing pens in England when it bought the Valentine Pen Co. in Newhaven, England in 1940. Over the years Parker was granted the Royal Warrants of both HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales and to my knowledge still holds those warrants even though Parker shut down their Newhaven plant in 2010. Parker became owned by the Newhaven factory in 1986 and the production shifted almost exclusively from the USA to the UK. The Newhaven management sold the company to Gillette in 1993 and Gillette sold Parker to its current owners Newell-Rubbermaid in 2000.

 

Today, I would consider Parker to be a Franco-American brand because its origins are in America but it manufactures almost entirely in Nantes, France at the Waterman factory. However, Parker has a history of manufacturing in France as they operated a factory in Meru beginning in the 1970s where the Parker 75, 45, 65, 35, Premier, the Mark1 Sonnet and other models were made over time.

Edited November 20, 2011 by Florida Blue

[Batman]

thank you for the great info, really appreciate it. I guess that's just like how Waterman is affiliated now with France since Parker and Waterman both are now made in Nantes France. Does anyone have any information on the factory that makes them, we hear so much about MontBlanc and their factory just wish there would be more information for parker and waterman.

 

Thanks

Brad

[Florida Blue]

Here is a good link on a tour that Glenn Marcus took at the Waterman factory a few years ago:

 

http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/companies/waterman-visit.html

[nxn96]

Parker was very much an "American" brand, given its founding by George S. Parker and his namesake company's "home" in Janesville, Wisconsin, USA. However, Parker was also an early adopter of the logic of a "global" brand in that Parker pens were manufactured and sold in international markets. The UK/Newhaven plant was an essential component of that international network. Over time, the UK part of Parker produced a number of Parker pens not found in the US lines in addition to producing the major US products for international distribution.

 

As the Parker brand/market for pens eroded in its original US market, there was an opportunity for the Newhaven management group to acquire and assume overall ownership/management of the Parker brand/line.

 

Not a bad outcome.