Thread: Where are the pens made?

I get asked this question a lot, so I'll put it on paper (internet).

Just to set the scene, I am a builder by trade and I use to run a crew of 6 men full time. 2 labourers, 1 apprentice, 2 chippies and old generalist who could fix or make anything (this guy was 70 and was probably the best worker I ever had). We built multi-unit housing and the construction company was mine. It was sold as a project built by my company, we leveraged the name because we were known to be the best builders in town.

We were the builders, but we didn't do any electrical work - the electricians did the electrical, as was the plumbing, plastering, bricklaying etc. These were all specialist jobs which was done by specialist. But at the end of the project we were still the builders.

The pen kit makers are the same. A lot of people think that with pen kits, there is this one big factory - the size of the aeroplane hanger full of people with different machines doing different components of the pen. I have visited a few of these factories in mainland china - they each make about 1.2 billion pens a year for the mass market. One factory which was 16 hectors in size boasted that they had made 46 billion pens since they started 18 years ago.

The niche pen makes in Taiwan don't seem to be this size (I have not found one that large in size yet in Taiwan) - most of them moved to Main Land China quite a few years ago. From my observations, its more the smaller factories now operating in Taiwan. Like a small building company they seem to outsource most of their work.

Mechanisms are a very specialist area - these mechanisms machines are based on automated mass output - tens of thousands are pumped out every day from these machines.

Refills are also a very specialist area - again refills are pumped out by the tens of thousands every day. You can actually order your own refills with your own logo on them but the minimum order is about 50,000 in a type and colour ink. Even at 50,000 refills, if they think this is a once off order, they don't even really want to talk to you.

Pen clips are also another specialist area - the specialist clip makers pump out thousands every day. They have have specially designed automated machines which pump them out non stop.

Couplers, nibs, brass tubes, electro plating, powder coating, plastic injection moulding, polishing, metal spinning, and the list goes on. Each step of the pen making process is very specialised and for efficiencies reason, each little factory has specialised to do certain tasks.

I can't speak for Berea - you guys should ask Berea yourself, I have not dealt with the Berea brand. But for Dayacom, I am a Dayacom agent in Australia. When I visit Dayacom, their based in the heart of Taipei (Taiwan's capital). Real Estate is very expensive there. There is no big factory but an office with QA staff checking all the components before assembly and bagging.

It doesn't appear that they are payrolling a factory that they own or operate. I believe it's more of outsourced operation like my construction company.

They project manage the pen kit making and seriously QA all the goods before they are bagged and sent.

Attached is a few pics. I visited quite a few of these smaller outsource companies not with Dayacom but another pen kit maker in Taiwan. These smaller outsource business seem to be small family owned and operated businesses where the Male is the specialist (tool maker or turner) and the wife and kids + 1 labourer run the business. Their factory is small (about 50 - 100 sqm or 1,000 square feet) and the family live upstairs from the factory.

There is about 20 - 40 separate steps in making a pen kit, here are just a few.
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Automated lathe making bushings

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Automated lathe making couplers

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Pen clip polishing

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Pen clip polishing before and after
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Sierra pen Grip polished

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Sierra pen Grip being polished
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Sierra pen grips

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Solid brass rods from which couplers are made
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Brass tubes resized into Sierra grips
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Brass tubes spinning machines which shape the brass tubes into Sierra grips.