October 2007
I have pens from most of the major manufacturers, and my OMAS pens rank up as among my best (See Pens of Note).
From the time that I purchased my first Paragon I was taken with the classic look and the smooth writing characteristics of the OMAS pen.
This year we planned to be near Bologna and I was fortunate enough to be able to arrange a visit with OMAS. The visit was interesting. In meeting President Christophe Artaux, Marketing Manager Marta Cruciani and Operations Manager Raffaele Rispo I got a very good overview of the company, their marketing and products and the process of creating the OMAS pen. I was impressed.
When in 2000 I had read about OMAS becoming part of the LVMH Group (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) I was somewhat concerned that the company may move away from its pens and its price points. But over the course of the past few years OMAS has continued to create well designed and well made pens.
Last year the new Paragon was issued. I recall reading the comments on some pen discussion boards with either endorsement or remorse about the change in style. I must admit, the though "why change a good thing" was in my mind. But I acquired the new Arte Italiana Paragon at Novelli Pen in 2006 and from the moment I picked it up, I liked the larger size, the improved presence of the pen clip and the the style changes in terms of the silver grip area and the new "O" that is found on the top of the pen cap.
This year I saw the advertisements for the new Arte Italiana Arco Celluloid and from the moment I saw that pen I announced to my wife, that was going to be my 2007 trip pen. Luckily my proclamation came true and yet another great OMAS pen joined my collection.
I have included a write up of the visit on the site. I found the visit very interesting. It was clear that OMAS still has its family roots, the joining up with LVMH has given the company access to high level marketing and other opportunities.
Earlier this year, Kenro Industries became the US distributor of OMAS which is all a good sign of OMAS's commitment to the North American market. As was reported in the March 2007 Pen World, Kenro is responsible for handling repairs for customers in the US. As many repairs as possible will be handled at the Kenro facility, although a few will be sent back to OMAS. In that article, Bryan Hulser, Kenro's Vice President of Marketing nicely summed up how I feel about the Italian style of an OMAS pen. When asked what comes to mind when you think of Italian style, he replied: "I think of quality and workmanship as well as trend setting design."
While at OMAS I saw the new release of the 360 which is available this year. All four of the line (Arte Italiana, Bologna, Emotica and the 360) represent well designed pens and should do the company well in terms of sales.