By Adetutu Audu
Tigerian Ball Point Pen Industries Plc (NIPEN), a subsidiary of CFAO Group, manufacturers of BIC brand of ball point pens, has re-launched its product for better repositioning.
Speaking during the occasion recently, Mr. Steve Faderin, Managing Director, NIPEN, said although there are challenges through some unscrupulous manufacturers who try to imitate their brand name, notwithstanding, the company has maintained its quality.
He explains that Bic pen has writing length of two to three kilometers, while the refill (or tube) stays transparently as the ink level drops and has very resistant point and steady writing.
Faderin noted that Bic barrel does not break around neck, the support has a permanently clipped end to the refill, while the support ensures the tube stays firm.The ink, he added, does not seep out to stain writing paper and it is comfortable to handle and for a seal of quality, it is usually coded and when all these qualities are not available, it gives a signal.
Explaining how far Bic has gone, he disclosed that it has been a global brand since 1950, but was incorporated in Nigeria in October 1972 and started production in July 1974.
Although NIPEN took off with an initial annual production capacity of 30 million ball point pens, the company now produces about 120 million pens, 20 million razors and 18 million caps a year.
The management, Faderin said, keeps investing in human capital development, machinery and product research in line with daily challenges in a tense competitive world.
In his comment, Mr. Marc Thomine-Desmazures, NIPEN’s Commercial and Marketing Manager, said apart from maintaining the standard, Bic also comes with a new design, new cartons, new flava, measures not only to checkmate fakers but to ensure that it does not lose its market share to importers and producers of substandard variants that flood the Nigerian market. He said the poor imitation of their genuine brands are designed to deceive unsuspecting consumers.
Ayo Omole, NIPEN’s National Sales Manager, warned consumers to beware of street hawkers, saying when NIPEN does its promo, they ensure that their marketing teams are in branded shirts.
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