What will become of Parker archives?
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Parker Pen fans around the world are being asked to sign a petition to keep the vast Parker Archives in England.
But the group's organizer admits the effort is a long shot.
Tony Fischier, a pen collector in Sweden, said the group is worried that the "unprecedented piece of corporate history" would be in peril if it leaves traditional Parker soil in Newhaven.
Founded in Janesville in 1888, Parker Pen is now owned by Newell Rubbermaid.
In 1986, Parker's investors and managers in the United Kingdom acquired Parker's writing instrument group to create Parker Pen Holdings Ltd. Gillette bought that company in 1993.
Six years later, Gillette announced that it would close its Arrow Park plant in Janesville and put nearly 300 people out of work. Gillette left intact a small part of its Janesville operation—the special markets division—and a repair operation. In 2001, Newell Rubbermaid bought the Janesville operation and consolidated it into its Sanford Business-to-Business division.
Beginning next month, Sanford will close the Janesville operation in a move that will ultimately put 140 people out of work.
Sometime next year, Sanford plans to close the Parker Newhaven plant and move production to France.
That's triggered the discussion about the future of the massive archive that includes immense quantities of paper records and pens, including a Parker that flew on the first Apollo mission.
Newell spokesman David Doolittle said Wednesday the company hasn't decided what will become of the archive.
"It's an incredible collection of history," Doolittle said. "We're taking a lot of this into consideration, and that includes the collection's significant value to us as a company and its value to the community."
Fischier said the digital petition might not accomplish anything.
"But hopefully, if there are a lot of us letting the company know that we care, maybe that could give the Newhaven people some leverage in their discussions with the mother company," Fischier said in an e-mail to the Gazette. "There is a fantastic treasure out there; the Parker brand has an incredible power among most people over 40.
"It's a petition, but it's mostly a declaration and a reminder that the Parker brand still equals an emotional value for millions of people. If we can't have the pens we love, at least we want a museum with the old relics."
If not retained in a public museum, the archives could be worth millions to collectors, Fischier said.
That could tempt Newell Rubbermaid to make a quick sale, he said, adding that such a move would dilute the market among pen collectors.
"To get the right value, the collection would have to be sold over a period of many years," he said.
Moving the archives to France also would cause problems, he said. Newhaven is the last of the original Parker factories, and the archives include boxes and boxes of history from the Arrow Park plant in Janesville.
Much of that history is valuable for Newell Rubbermaid's ongoing research and development efforts, Doolittle said.
"We certainly recognize the value of this collection and are trying to balance all of the interests," he said.
Jan 3, 2010 at 1:36 p.m.
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My Nephew Says Put All On eBay
Dec 26, 2009 at 5:59 p.m.
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gwendt, Parker is owned by a US company. The Newell Rubbermaid headquarters are in Georgia. Since Parker was a leading innovator with multi-national manufacturing the fact that this facility is in Britain has everything to do with Parker Pen's own strategy and success in the mid-20th century. It was a Parker factory decades before Parker was sold to Gillette or later to Newell (which of course itself was a Freeport/Beloit-based company until just a year before the Parker acquisition -- it almost came home).
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I applaud the confidence of those such as Goodboy, but an effort like this isn't effected by wishful thinking. There needs to be someone to pull all the parties together, and at least one major underwriter ready to support this archive to the tune of thousands of dollars a year in basic curatorial care. I hope that would exist, but this is already the 11th hour and the idea of bringing it to Janesville is only now being raised.
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Now, if anyone wants an idea and has the time and connections to run with it, how about combining the effort for a children's museum with a pen museum? It would certainly be a unique approach.
Dec 26, 2009 at 11:49 a.m.
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One other partner in the effort could be the many former Parker Pen workers who, I am sure, could contribute not only cash but their voices for an archive of workers' memories, which could make the museum a place of research for people interested in labor history.
Dec 26, 2009 at 11:46 a.m.
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The U.S. is nothing if not the land of museums. The archive should come to its natural home, Janesville. I foresee a partnership between Newell Robbermaid, the Parker heirs, the city and maybe some federal dollars. It would certainly help attract more bus tours to town and would be one of a kind. And it would help put Janesville on the map.
The museum could also become a center for literacy efforts, which would attract grant funding.
Dec 26, 2009 at 11:28 a.m.
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the plant may be in U.K., but the story is about the records of The Parker Pen company, which is controlled by another foreign country.
it seems the archives of Parker Pen are "across the Pond" and any Janesville people who may wish to see the vintage Parker pens have to commute to Europe. right?
Dec 24, 2009 at 10:59 p.m.
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The plant that is being closed is in the UK, not the US.
Dec 24, 2009 at 10:08 p.m.
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Another company is leaving the US. So who really cares! I mean really. The Parker family sold out to the Gillette Company and I don’t blame them, after all, they made a %$^# load of money. This is just another story of another US company that once was a great company, but now is nothing more then a cash cow for corporate business. The rich get richer and the blue collar get, well you know. NOTHING! So really; do you think the ones that lost their jobs, really care about a museum? They will cash their unemployment checks, then go to the museum and look at the vintage pens. I am sure they are quality pens, but what is the real problem here? Where are the jobs? Without good paying, blue collar jobs, the US cannot survive. Thought I would leave my comment, whether you agree or not
Dec 24, 2009 at 7:24 p.m.
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Remember when Americans could take pride in their labor force. Due to corporate greed, Americans are losing their jobs and long time products to countries like China and France. FRANCE? You've got to be kidding me. It's a sad day indeed. When will it stop?
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