Penman's Progress

The new white brick building outside Janesville, Wis. looks for all the world like a Midwest headquarters for the United Nations. Over the $3,500,000 structure, as big as four football fields, nutter the flags of 72 nations. Leading up to it is a "Path of Nations" made of stones from the four corners of the earth. The building is the new plant of Parker Pen Co., whose global-mindedness has made it the biggest penmaker in the world.

At the dedicatory "globalunch," where the dishes included raeker (peeled shrimp) from Norway, sur sill (sour herring) from Sweden, and topinambours en daube (stew of Jerusalem artichokes) from France, Chairman Ken Parker preached his gospel that tariffs should be abolished by the U.S. and other nations, and free world trade restored. Said he: "Two-way trade with foreign nations ... is the only really practical way to achieve peace on this earth. Two individuals or two communities or two nations who mutually profit from trading with each other do not tend to quarrel or go to war."

Trip Abroad. Parker, who likes to describe a fountain pen as "a controlled leak," got his first introduction to foreign markets when he went to France and Germany to study. Later, after a stint as a Navy flyer in World War I, he went to work for the family company, persuaded his father to start a British subsidiary. Said father George later: "We lost $100,000 the first year because we did not understand the British temperament. We have become wiser since."

Part of the wisdom was to hire native salesmen, who understood their country's temperament, to sell Parker pens around the globe. In ads in 31 languages, Parker plugged its products: the Duofold, Vacumatic, the "51" (which sold on India's and China's black markets during World War II for as much as $200). Under Ken Parker, who took over after his father's death in 1937, Parker's foreign sales rose to $13,700,000 last year, or about 40% of total sales of $32 million.

While expanding abroad into 121 countries, Ken Parker did not forget his 1,900 employees at home. They have a union shop, liberal welfare benefits, and a respect for Parker's enlightened methods; never in the company's 60-year history have they called a strike. A year and a half ago, feeling that the time clock irritated employees, Parker abolished it. Tardiness and absenteeism dwindled to almost zero. Ken

Parker never lets his workers forget the importance of their foreign trade; he once gave them 40% of their pay in Mexican pesos, arranged with local merchants to honor the currency.

Short Answer. Recently, sales of the Sheaffer Pen Co., spurred by the new Snorkel pen, have been closing the gap on Parker. To help counter the threat, Parker is trying to diversify its pen line too. Three years ago, it brought out the Parker "21," small brother of its alltime bestseller. This fall Parker introduced two new models priced between the "21" and the "51." Parker also marketed (under French license) the first U.S.-made butane-gas cigarette lighter, the Flaminaire, is now tinkering with another of its own.

As a world trader, Ken Parker has a short answer to those who fear that cheap labor will enable foreign manufacturers to undersell in the U.S. if tariffs are eliminated. Says he: "We'll take our chances on U.S. production and merchandising savvy any time against all comers. And with the bars down in both directions, U.S. manufacturers would have access to the two billion consumers in the world, instead of only 150 million at home."

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