Scrikss in Spain

Some weeks ago, the author of the blog Write to me Often –Zeynep— spoke of the Turkish brand Scrikss and about the Spanish origin of the brand. She mentioned the lack of reliable records on the history of the brand as well as the contradiction between the Spanish records (Registry of the Intellectual Property) and the claims of the Turkish company. These are my findings related, mostly, to the Spanish history of the company.

This brand, Scrikss, was first registered in Barcelona in 1959 by Luis Gispert Miró for his company Industrial Gispert [NEBOT 2009]. The name, some say, was inspired by the Catalan word for to write: escriure [SCRIKSS 2012]. During these years, besides producing pens, the company also supplied nibs to, at least, the Spanish pen company Soffer. In 1963, the brand name and the machinery were sold to Estilográficas Jabalina [NEBOT 2009]. Juan Navarro Sánchez had founded this company in 1948 [SAM DIVERSA 2012] or 1949 [NEBOT 2009] (application filed in November 1947 [RODRÍGUEZ 2003]) as a one man operation to repair fountain pens in Albacete, Spain.

Two Scrikss pens made in Barcelona. Photographs by Mr. Alberto Linares.

It seems, however, that Jabalina barely used the name of Scrikss for its fountain pens. On the picture we can see a transitional model: box and pressing plate of the filling system are labeled as Jabalina, while the cap still holds the name of Scrikss. Although some accounts exist [RODRÍGUEZ 2003] of some initial production of pens in the early 1950s, it is reasonable to think that the main production of pens started with the acquisition of this machinery in 1963.

A transitional Scrikss-Jabalina model--both brand names coexist on the pen. Photographs by Mr. Eduardo Alcalde.

A Jabalina pen made in Albacete. Photograph by Mr. Alberto Linares.

At some point during the 1960s (maybe in 1963), the brand name Scrikss was sold to a Turkish entrepreneur, eventually with the intervention of the Swiss company Mowe SA. [SCRIKSS 2012]. Was Jabalina just interested on the machinery and then sold the brand rights right after acquiring them?

Jabalina, actually, continued producing pens and sometime either in the 1950s [SAM DIVERSA 2012] or in the 1980s [MOLINA 2005] it changed its name to STYB (its model Compact has already shown up on these chronicles), as it is known nowadays.

On the Turkish side, the company was established in Istanbul and started the development of products with the initial support of Spanish technicians (reference). It produces pens mostly for the domestic market while acting as importer of Cross in Turkey. Its website also mentions Pelikan as imported by this company, but some other records claimed this was not the case for the past years.

On the picture we can see the model 17, the first fountain pen made by Scrikss in Turkey in 1966, and still on the online catalog of the company. This model 17 has an uncanny similarity to the Súper T Olimpia released in Spain in 1961.

Turkish Scrikss model 17. This model dates from 1966.

My thanks to Alberto Linares, Eduardo Alcalde and Zeynep; all friends in the unreal realm of fountain pens.


REFERENCES:

MOLINA 2005. Carlos MOLINA. “Styb: tinta líquida para cien millones de bolígrafos”. Cinco Días. August 26, 2005.
NEBOT 2009. Pedro NEBOT. La estilográfica española. November 2009.
RODRÍGUEZ 2003. Juan Carlos RODRÍGUEZ. “La increíble historia del boli ‘Made in Albacete’”. El Mundo. España. November 2, 2003.
SAM DIVERSA 2012. Sam Diversa Corporation. Website. http://www.sanchez-muliterno.com/samdiversa/industrial.html . Retrieved July 2012.
SCRIKSS 2012. Scrikss Turkey website. http://www.scrikss.com.tr/History. Retrieved July 2012.

Montblanc 221 – Wagner 2012 ink, red-black

Bruno Taut
May-July 2012
etiquetas: Scrikss España, STYB, Scrikss Turquía, Jabalina, España, Turquía

Reliquias

Per l'Olga.

La gente no debería festejar el paso del tiempo,
aunque siempre sea noble el obstinarse en celebrar el triunfo del enemigo.
Pedro ZARRALUKI. El responsable de las ranas. 1990.

En este año 2011 se cumple el 50 aniversario del modelo Olimpia de la empresa Súper T. Normalmente, éstas son fechas para celebrar y para descorchar una botella de buen cava. Sin embargo, el panorama estilográfico español, y aun europeo, no invita al optimismo.

Súper T Olimpia.

Tres compañías producen hoy plumas estilográficas en España. La más evidente es Inoxcrom. Su situación económica es mala y eso se nota en los productos que proporcionan prestigio pero no dinero. Su catálogo de plumas apenas ha cambiado en los últimos años y esta división parece ir a la deriva, sin una estrategia comercial clara. No obstante, sigue presente en bastantes comercios en Madrid y, presumiblemente, en España.

Inoxcrom 77.

La segunda marca española de plumas –desde un punto de vista histórico— es STYB, antigua Jabalina. Produce tan solo tres modelos de estilográficas y su presencia en el mercado es anecdótica.

STYB Compact.

Finalmente queda la empresa Pixeline como creadora de la marca Romillopens. Son estas plumas artículos de gran lujo, de producción pequeña y artesanal. Se distribuyen tan solo a través de una única tienda física, en Madrid, y, por supuesto, de su página web. Por tanto, las Romillopens no se ven en las tiendas del ramo.

Súper T Gester.

Súper T, por su lado, desapareció en 1976 y sus plumas son ya reliquias en manos de coleccionistas y comerciantes u objetos olvidados en un cajón. Desgraciadamente, me apuro a añadir, porque tanto la Gester como la Olimpia son plumas de buena calidad y de diseño interesante.

Pero ante este panorama, limitarnos a brindar y a darnos palmaditas en la espalda por el cumpleaños de la Olimpia no conduce a nada. ¡Es que ni siquiera podemos exclamar “per molts anys” al brindar!

Por ello quisiera que hubiera alguna iniciativa más atrevida que nos permita mirar al futuro de la estilográfica española con más optimismo. Con objeto de que en algún momento, con motivo de otro aniversario, sí podamos brindar por la larga vida de esa pluma, de esa marca, de esta industria.

(Kaweco Sport transparente – Senator Regent Royal Blue)

Bruno Taut
29 de julio de 2011
[labels: Súper T, Inoxcrom, STYB, Romillopens, España]

Low Cost in Spain

The already described Zande-Phondex’s copy of the Sheaffer’s No Nonsense pen is not the only inexpensive pen in the Spanish market.

From left to right, Zande-Phondex "Pluma estilográfica", STYB "Compact", and Auchan. All of them below €5.

Their nibs—unmarked that of the Zande-Phondex.

French supermarket chain Chain offers its own brand of pens. The company does not declare which company actually manufactures them. This Auchan pen uses short international cartridges and could easily be transformed into an eyedropper. Actually, its translucent body makes it especially suitable for the transformation. The rigid steel nib –engraved with the company logo— is iridium tipped and performs admirably.

The Auchan's pen in green. Other colors available.

STYB is one of the few examples of pen companies in Spain. It is the successor of the historical brand Jabalina, founded in 1948 in Albacete (Spain) by Juan Sánchez Navarro. Several fountain pens can be found on its catalog, the cheaper of which is the model Compact.

Auchan's pen nib, engraved with the company logo.

Quite similar to the Auchan pen, its construction quality is clearly cheaper. A major difference is the nib—the STYB’s is just folded and uses no iridium. As a result, this pen’s feeling is rougher than the competitor. Both pens have similar prices—slightly below €3.

STYB's folded nib.

STYB Compact pen presentation.

Therefore, the Zande-Phondex remains as a much better deal than the rest—much lower in price while performing very well.

Zande-Phondex's version of the Sheaffer's No Nonsense.

The market of inexpensive pens —say, below €5— is very reduced in Spain. The distribution of these products seems to be quite erratic, which is very different with the usual presence of cheap Japanese pens in supermarkets and stationery shops in Japan.

(Aurora 88K – Diamine Evergreen)

Bruno Taut
June 6th, 2011
[labels: STYB, Auchan, Zande-Phondex, España, mercado]