A.T. Cross Company, LLC. is an Americanmanufacturing company of writing implements, based in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1846, is one of the oldest pen manufacturers in the world. Cross' products include fountain, ballpoint, and rollerball pens, mechanical pencils and refills. The company also manufactures accessories for those goods such as cases and wallets. The company has also owned Sheaffer, another pen manufacturer, since 2014.
History
The company was founded in 1846 in Providence, Rhode Island. It initially manufactured gold and silver casings for pencils, reflecting the Cross family's history as jewelers. The company was founded by Richard Cross, who passed it on to his son, Alonzo T. Cross. The company developed many innovative new writing instruments, including forerunners of the modern mechanical pencils, and the earliest stylographic pens. In the 1960s, the company moved its headquarters to a large facility in Lincoln, Rhode Island. After trading on the NASDAQ for five years, the company was sold in 2013 to Clarion Capital Partners, LLC, but it retained its headquarters in Lincoln, Rhode Island. The Sheaffer pen company was acquired by A.T. Cross in 2014. In May 2016, with its headquarters in Lincoln becoming too large, the company accepted a set of tax credits and incentives in exchange for moving its headquarters to Providence, Rhode Island. The new headquarters, measuring about 4200 square feet, is located at The Foundry, the former Brown and Sharpe Manufacturing Company Complex at 299 Promenade Street in Providence. Most employees were moved to the new location by October 2016. On November 16, 2017, Transom Capital Group, LLC announced that it had bought the assets of A.T. Cross Company.
Presidential pens
Cross has been an official supplier of pens to the White House since at least the 1970s. The pens used to sign legislation are often given out as souvenirs to those who attend the bill signings. While an official Cross–White House program was begun under president Bill Clinton, it is known that the tradition goes back to at least the administration of Gerald Ford. All presidents from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump signed legislation using Cross pens; it is unknown if earlier presidents did so. Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton favored the Cross Townsend model; Obama later switched to the Century II model in black lacquer, with black medium point refill. The Trump administration placed an initial order for 150 Cross Century II pens in January 2017. Sometime before November 2018, Trump broke with tradition and ceased using the Cross pen, saying "it was a horrible pen, and it was extremely expensive". Since, he has signed documents using a customized Sharpie marker manufactured by Newell Brands. Rhode Island GovernorGina Raimondo signs state laws using Cross pens.
Products
Cross is well known for its writing instrument lines, beginning with mechanical pencils, and it produced the first stylographic pens in 1879. The current product line includes fountain pens, ballpoint pens, gel pens and mechanical pencils. The first Cross fountain pens were likely produced in 1930, but not again until the 1980s. Cross writing instruments are generally sold in the mid-range of the market, rather than the extreme luxury end. However, they became a "must-have" accessory for the rising professional during the 1970s and 1980s. Most Cross writing instruments are now made in China, although some of the work for customized pens for presidents and politicians is done in New England. The company also manufactures a range of wristwatches, cufflinks, desk accessories and leather goods such as pen cases, portfolios, and other items often targeted at the gift market. In late 1997, Cross and IBM teamed up to introduce a digital writing pad, called the CrossPad, which was discontinued in 2004.
