Eighteen craftsmen, all producers of fountain-pens and other writing instruments, form the Writing Instrument Manufacturers’ Cooperative in Budapest, 5th District, Kálmán Street. It is only licensed to repair fountain pens.

The state gives the cooperative a license to manufacture five thousand fountain pens a year. The barrels are manufactured from celluloid tubes in Kálmán Street.

The assembling of ball-point pens begins, using imported ball-point cartridges.

Production increases to 1,5 million fountain pens a year. The cooperative begins to invest and buys its first plastic processing machines.

The cooperative is expanding fast. It moves to larger premises – from Kálmán Street to Újpest – and starts to manufacture its own ball-point cartridges. It changes its name to Writing Instrument Cooperative.

On June 30th, the cooperative signs a contract with Scripto Inc. of Georgia, USA to manufacture its ball-point pens. This was the first ever case of cooperation between a Hungarian socialist cooperative and a western company after World War II.

In addition to ball-point pens and mechanical pencils, the cooperative begins to produce felt-tip pens, and also branches out into the manufacture of small office equipment, as licensed from the Austrian company Heinrich Sachs. Thanks to the COMECON distribution system, SAX staplers and hole-punches can be found throughout the Eastern block.

Work begins on the construction of a plant on a new site in Pomáz, near Budapest.

The automation of the manufacturing process begins; ICO buys its first HUTT and ALBE machines. The new company’s new image and the ICO brand are introduced to the market.

All types of pens are being produced in increasing quantity: 75 million felt-tip pens now come off the production line, with ball-point pens and cartridges numbering 50 million. The cooperation with the Austrian company Heinrich Sachs intensifies. The manufacture of SAX staplers and hole-punches is moved entirely to ICO.

Start of the political and economic transition in Hungary. The transformation of ICO from the cooperative to a joint stock company begins. Together with the Austrian company ÖKI, ICO founds a joint venture to produce envelopes and process paper at the plant in Pomáz

SAX Hungary Ltd., 50% of which belongs to ICO, begins operation. ICO Joint Stock Company is registered under the name ICO Rt, and with this, the company is fully privatized. In addition to the production, the company establishes a distribution network both in Hungary and abroad.

ICO’s subsidiary ICO Trade is founded in Prague to distribute ICO and SAX products in the Czech Republic.

ICO sets up its Romanian subsidiary – Lianora’s Pen to distribute ICO and Sax products in Romania.

ICO established a commercial office in Shanghai, allowing it to export ICO and Sax products to China and Hong Kong.

ICO JSC is Hungary’s leading manufacturer and distributor of pens and office equipment. It is the exclusive distributor of a number of brands known world-wide, such as Edding, Koh-I-Noor, Parker and Waterman. ICO’s products are exported to more than 40 countries of the world. ICO has a number of subsidiaries or part-owned companies in Hungary and abroad.

ICO’s subsidiary ICO Sremčica Trade is founded in Belgrade to distribute ICO and SAX products in the Serbia.

2006: The company ICO UK is established in Kent, United Kingdom