Mitsubishi Pencil Co. (uni)(7976.T)
HQ JP
Japanese maker of uni-ball pens and high-grade ink/tips.
manufactured · input
Ballpoint Pen Tip Steel & Ink
The precision ball + ultra-hard/ultra-thin tip steel and ink that make a ballpoint pen write. Until 2017 even China imported pen-tip steel (from Japan/Germany/Switzerland) — a famous capability gap.
12
Source countries
4
Companies
1
Goods affected
0
Claims on record
What depends on it
Goods that need this input
1 essential American goods rely on ballpoint pen tip steel & ink somewhere upstream in their supply chain.
Where it comes from
Source countries
Share of global supply, by country.
| Country | Share of supply |
|---|---|
| JPJapan | 36% |
| GBUnited Kingdom | 9% |
| DEGermany (Federal Republic of Germany) | 7% |
| SGSingapore | 5% |
| TWTaiwan | 5% |
| INIndia | 4% |
| ILIsrael | 4% |
| CNChina | 4% |
| FRFrance | 4% |
| MYMalaysia | 3% |
| BEBelgium | 3% |
| ITItaly | 2% |
Who makes it
Supplier companies
4 companies produce ballpoint pen tip steel & ink.
Société BIC(BB.PA)
HQ FR
World’s largest disposable-pen maker (BIC Cristal); barrels, ink and tips.
Taiyuan Iron & Steel (TISCO)(000825.SZ)
HQ CN
Stainless-steel maker; in 2017 first produced domestic Chinese pen-tip steel.
Tsubaki Nakashima(6464.T)
HQ JP
Major maker of precision balls (bearing balls + pen-tip balls).