Venerable Ink in New Clothing

Uma is a proud family business. The short film revisits the history and the company’s success story. Founder Fritz Ullmann himself almost seems astonished as he recounts the anecdote of how 87 million ballpoint pens were sold last year – his reaction: That means virtually every German owns an uma ballpoint pen!

Together with his brother and father, Alexander Ullmann now runs the business in the third generation in Fischerbach in southern Germany, where the company is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. It was then that the grandfather came up with the idea of offering his writing instruments as promotional products, an idea that has prevailed until this day. Today, the small town of Fischerbach stands for the company – and vice versa – its regional identity is one of uma’s core values. And so the three managing directors aren’t the only ones to bear the name Ullmann: a school, a nursery and a street all share the same name.

The portfolio is extensive and meets every customer’s individual needs. Currently, a total of 350 models with a wide variety of different versions, materials and surface finishes set the uma brand apart from the competition. The key products are plastic ballpoint pens, markers and highlighters. In addition to the standard colours offered, special colours can be implemented as required. While a ballpoint pen may seem like a very basic promotional giveaway, it’s actually an extremely versatile product with almost infinite potential for new developments in terms of material, texture and colours. As Ullmann puts it with a smile, “the ink always has to be dressed in new clothes”.

Alexander Ullmann calls the twist ballpoint pen “CORAL” his PSI pen. In addition to the usual high quality of writing, the pen stands out due to its solid rubber coating on the housing and clip. Like all of uma’s writing instruments, this one is also “Made in Germany”. The model “BRUSH GUM” translates the same variety of colours and the rubberised surface onto a metal ballpoint pen. The high-quality pen with a special soft touch will also be used in the cyber-Lounge this year. uma is making an exception and creating an exclusive version in white, a tricky design to maintain. Sets in all ranges feature the various writing techniques of ballpoint pens, rollerballs, fountain pens etc. – all tailored to the customer’s wishes. This further expands the product range, now also including the cartridge roller.

By manufacturing its pens in Germany, uma is staking a clear claim to sustainable production. Another important aspect is the choice of materials. One of the company’s key focuses in this respect is its use of recycled PET bottles. The bottles are shredded, converted into granulate and brought back to life as ballpoint pens. A single 0.5 litre bottle is all it takes to create a brand new casing. That means that this casing consists of 100% recycled material and can be returned to the cycle as a closed chain. Each pen also bears the “climate-neutral” label. To offset CO2 emissions, uma reinvests in the region, for example in reforestation projects in the Black Forest. The cycle is completed by sustainable ballpoint pens, produced climate-neutrally on site and made from Black Forest beech wood. The constantly increasing demand represents an attitude shift in the promotional products industry, both on the part of the suppliers and of the customers. The trend is moving towards smaller quantities in favour of higher-quality, more sustainable products.

https://www.mycybergroup.com/en/news-1/cg-tv-1