Who has never used a Tratto Pen? Yet not everyone knows these pens, halfway between a fountain pen and a felt-tip pen, are also 100% Made in Italy ‘museum items’!
Produced by the historic FILA – FABBRICA ITALIANA LAPIS ED AFFINI S.p.A, founded in Florence in 1920, they are now part of the prestigious Phaidon Design Classic collection of the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York, a collection that includes only 999 cult objects that made design history from 1800 to 2000!
Over 100 years of pencils
But let us take a step back. The company was founded just over 100 years ago (1920) in Florence on the initiative of a group of industrialists, landowners, and professionals: 28 partners who wanted to produce graphite and California cedarwood pencils. Five years later, in 1925, another iconic product was launched: the famous Giotto crayons, a constant presence on school desks for entire generations.
After the Second World War, ownership of the company passed to the Milanese Candela family, who still run it today. Current CEO Massimo Candela shares a curious story: when his grandfather, Renato, decided to visit California to inspect the wood suppliers in person, he was so scared during the flight in a small twin-engine plane that he decided to give himself a month and a half to return home by ship.
A trip to Japan and the birth of Tratto Pen
FILA makes a quantum leap under the leadership of Alberto Armando Candela, born in 1939, a marketing man, visionary and travel enthusiast. During a trip to Japan in the 1970s, the manager discovered and acquired the writing patent for a synthetic nib divided into micro-slices, capable of receiving water-based ink and writing continuously and accurately without smudging.
In 1974, Candela asked the architects and designers of Design Group Italia to design a pen that should be beautiful to look at, iconic, but also functional and affordable. Thus, the famous ‘Tratto Pen’, part marker, part fountain pen with a minimalist, futuristic, and functional design inspired by ‘less is more’ was created. The Tratto Pen is smooth, but the cap has an edge with seven notches to prevent it from rolling off the desk once it rests, and two anti-suffocation holes on the top. It was initially produced in three colours: red, black and blue. Success is immediate – in four days, it sells four million pieces – and its launch represents a revolution in writing. In 1979, the Tratto Pen received the prestigious Compasso d’Oro award, often referred to as the “Oscar” of Industrial Design.
International Expansion
Over the last 20 years, Fila has expanded internationally through a series of strategic acquisitions worldwide, including Adica Pongo, Dixon Ticonderoga Company, Pacon Group, Lapiceria Mexicana, and Daler-Rowney Lukas, as well as Canson. Today, FILA is present in 150 countries, operates 22 production plants (two of which are located in Italy), and employs approximately 9,500 people. This year’s turnover is expected to be around EUR 700 million.
For his dedication to work, ethics and sense of corporate responsibility, Alberto Armando Candela was appointed Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labour) in 2016 by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. In 2020, the Ministry of Economic Development issued an ordinary stamp dedicated to FILA as part of the ‘The Excellence of the Production and Economic System’ series.
Congratulations to those who bring Italy’s distinguishing stroke to the world!
Learn about other Italian companies that left their mark on art and culture.