Sharp as a pen

The Group is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the BIC® Cristal® pen. This emblematic product marked the fi rst conquest in the now wide range of stationery: ballpoint pens, fountain pens, rollers, mechanical pencils, the BIC® Ecolutions™ line, correction, marking and coloring

products, and not forgetting glue, scissors and more, the majority of them made in BIC’s own plants. A close-up look at the secrets that go into

making pens unlike any others.

n the lightweight 5.8 g BIC® Cristal® pen, not a thing is

I unnecessary. Every part contributes to one sole purpose – writing, for as long as possible, a minimum of 2 km. Which means that with one single BIC® Cristal®, the “writer” can complete 986 Sudokus or write 506 post cards, about twice as long as with nearly every competing product.

“We guarantee the same quality and ease of writing, to all our

BIC means users, no matter where they are in the world, from the beginning

2 km of writing, to the end of the pen,” says Bruno minimum. Bich. He adds, “Because we manufacture the ink, the points...,

the balls, which we measure down to the micron, ourselves we can produce this consistently exceptional quality every day for our millions of products.” BIC’s high‑tech procedures are carefully monitored by strict, rigorous quality controls.

How does it happen? The pens’ ball points are made of a tungsten After its manufacturing, the point is tested in order to check carbide powder. They’re hardened in an oven where they become all quality criteria through as hard as diamonds. Then they’re vitrifi ed and ground to become various writing checks. extremely strong, perfect spheres. Lastly, the ball point is inserted into the point support and the precision checked to ensure the quality of the writing. “BIC’s extensive technical knowledge means the fl ow of ink is completely controlled,” says Philippe Herard, Industrial and R&D manager.

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