2024-02-28 17:58:00
Heidelberg. The well-known fountain pen manufacturer Lamy was owned by its founding family for three generations – now a Japanese company is taking over the helm of the traditional Heidelberg company. On Wednesday, the more than 300 employees at the headquarters in Wieblingen were informed that the Lamy family had sold 100 percent of the shares to the Mitsubishi Pencil Company.
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This is also a family business with a long tradition – but a much larger one than the Heidelberg company. Uni Mitsubishi Pencil Company was founded in Tokyo in 1887. Sales in 2023 are estimated at 74.8 billion yen (around 458 million euros) – a multiple of Lamy’s sales, which were 85.2 million euros in 2021 according to the electronic Federal Gazette.
Pencils, rollerball pens and gel roller pens at Mitsubishi Pencil
About 46.5 percent of Mitsubishi Pencil’s sales come from Japan and 15.4 percent from Europe. The company employs more than 2,700 people worldwide. In Germany, Uni Mitsubishi Pencil is best known for its Uni(-ball) brand pencils, rollerball pens and gel roller pens.
Regarding possible synergies through the takeover, it was said on Wednesday that since Lamy is positioned with its products in the premium sector, the brand and range would “perfectly complement” the Mitsubishi Pencil offering. In addition to the strong and sought-following brand, Lamy brings design expertise, “Made in Germany” and “valuable, experienced employees”.
The Heidelberg location should remain
Lamy, in turn, might benefit from the new owner’s large global sales and dealer network. This would make Lamy products even more available internationally. Lamy itself had changed its strategy in recent years: While the former boss Bernhard Rösner focused heavily on international expansion, especially in China, the current management focused more on a niche strategy in the premium sector. The international sales network was trimmed, which was also noticeable in Heidelberg’s sales. They shrank significantly between 2017 and 2020.
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Published02/28/2024By jab
Last year, management announced a comprehensive investment program in Heidelberg that is intended to modernize production and advance the development of new digital products – such as smartpens. In this area, Lamy might benefit in the future from the technological expertise that Mitsubishi Pencil brings to the table in the area of digital writing.
So far completely manufactured in Heidelberg
What will be particularly important for the employees is the extent to which the new owner wants to stick to Heidelberg production. Under the Lamy family, all products have been manufactured entirely in Heidelberg – including for the approximately 80 countries outside of Germany where the fountain pens are sold. There is also an extremely high level of vertical integration at the location – many preliminary products and machines for fountain pen production are also produced here, as are the inks and cartridges.
“The Mitsubishi Pencil Company has promised not only to maintain the Heidelberg location, but to further develop it,” assured Lamy CEO Steffen Rübke on Wednesday. “And in fact there is first-class production here, in which large sums of money have been invested to modernize it.” The new owner wants to focus on the location and the “Made in Germany” label, which is a valuable part of the brand Lamy be, build up.
The core of the Lamy brand remains intact
“The core of the Lamy brand will be retained and developed further. ‘Made in Germany’ will continue to play a crucial role. “That was and is of utmost importance to us,” Markus Lamy was quoted as saying in a statement. He had previously held shares in the family business together with his sister Vera Lamy. Her father, Manfred Lamy, ran the fountain pen manufacturer himself until 2006, following which an external manager took over the management of the company for the first time.
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For Mirko Geiger, chief representative of the IG Metall union in Heidelberg, the sale does not come as a particular surprise. “In this market you have to make sure that you are working with a strong player. “In this respect, the step seems logical,” he says. In general, the union recommends that the workforce in Heidelberg place greater emphasis on written agreements and commitments with management in the future.
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