Working out of his house, Seech invented a new ink formula. In 1949, Patrick J. Frawley Jr bought Seech formula. With an investment of $40,000, he bought the Todd Pen Company, changing its name to the Frawley Corporation.
Frawley improved the design and in 1950 he began producing a pen he called Paper Mate.
It was an immediate success, and within a few years, Paper Mates were selling in their millions around the world.
In 1950, the company’s sales were $500,000. By the following years, they had reached $12 m, and by 1953, the company was turning over $20 m in sales.
By the mid 1950s, Gillette had entered the ballpoint pen business with the acquisition of Paper Mate for $15.5 million.
In 1979 the Paper Mate Company introduced an erasable ball-point.
Paper mate
