How many stories can a pen write?
For 80 years, we have been manufacturing pens at our factory in Sweden.
Ballograf’s history began with our founder, Eugen Spitzer, who fled Austria to Sweden just before the outbreak of World War II. In 1945, he founded Ballograf in a basement in Mölndal. Today, while many companies moved their production abroad, we proudly remain the only pen manufacturer in the Nordic region.
When Ballograf was founded, ballpoint pens were something new and exciting, yet there was some skepticism surrounding this modern writing instrument. Despite this, the market was in full motion, and there were even instances of ballpoint pen smuggling. A memorable example was an event in Gothenburg, where a crew member aboard the ship Gripsholm was caught with a specially made vest concealing as many as 180 ballpoint pens!
Did you know that when Ballograf Epoca was launched in 1961, it came as a breath of fresh air to the world of pens? It was not just its appearance, which stood out in the early 60s, but also its ergonomic focus. There had been requests for an ergonomically correct pen from the postal service, as their staff, who wrote daily, complained of hand fatigue and pain. We still continue to develop our pens with a focus on sustainability and design.
Our pens have become part of many peoples daily lives, both in Sweden and abroad, with several classic models like the iconic Epoca or our timeless Deskset, also known as the “Bankpenna,” with its distinctive chain and stand.
Each pen carries its own story – of durable quality, reliability, and memories passed down through generations. We believe in the power of writing with a pen and hope that you, the reader, will join us in writing history by hand for at least another 80 years…
