
{"id":9906,"date":"2019-08-30T15:57:10","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T07:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.synergymediaspecialists.com\/?p=9906"},"modified":"2021-10-04T07:17:57","modified_gmt":"2021-10-04T07:17:57","slug":"pilot-pen-south-africa-the-mark-of-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/pilot-pen-south-africa-the-mark-of-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilot Pen South Africa \u2014 the mark of success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<p>With over a century of providing innovative, stylish and high-quality writing instruments to consumers around the world, the Japan-headquartered company continues to draw international attention as a market leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ZA19-Pilot-photo-1.jpg\" class=\"td-modal-image\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ZA19-Pilot-photo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15109\" width=\"500\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ZA19-Pilot-photo-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ZA19-Pilot-photo-1-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ZA19-Pilot-photo-1-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ZA19-Pilot-photo-1-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ZA19-Pilot-photo-1-696x523.jpg 696w, https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ZA19-Pilot-photo-1-559x420.jpg 559w, https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ZA19-Pilot-photo-1-80x60.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption>\u201cWe have a well-trained, quality-driven team of people.\u201d \u2014&nbsp;<strong>Steven Groenewold<\/strong>, Managing Director of PPSA&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>\u00a9&nbsp;PPSA<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>PILOT\u2019s pens have been used in South Africa for over 50 years. A subsidiary, Pilot Pen South Africa (PPSA) was established by Pilot Pen U.K. in the country in 1997. In 2006, the ownership was transferred to PILOT Corp. (Japan). Since 2008, PPSA has expanded to nine other countries on the African continent. PILOT is also doing business in many other African markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PILOT offers a wide range of innovative products to suit all writing requirements. Products include the limited-edition Namiki fountain pen, PILOT\u2019s erasable FRIXION, gel-ink pens and traditional ballpoint pens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDespite operating in a relatively flat market over the last five years, our business in South Africa has grown from strength to strength,\u201d said Steven Groenewold, managing director of PPSA. \u201cWe have grown the business based on the awareness of the PILOT brand, our product range and our successful marketing strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the last seven years, PPSA has achieved record growth in terms of value and the business has doubled in size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe constantly re-invest back into the business and we have a well-trained, quality- driven team of people,\u201d said Groenewold. \u201cIn terms of delivering high-quality customer service, Japanese companies are head and shoulders above the rest and this same customer-focused approach has enabled us to achieve great things in South Africa and other African markets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2008, PPSA launched a livelihood program in several South African townships. The company provided residents with the opportunity to sell PILOT pens and the initiative created commercial opportunities while supporting education and the arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>In terms of delivering high-quality customer service, Japanese companies are head and shoulders above the rest and this same customer-focused approach has enabled us to achieve great things in South Africa and other African markets.<\/p><cite><span class=\"has-inline-color has-white-color\"><strong>Steven Groenewold<\/strong>, Managing Director of PPSA<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\" style=\"margin-top:-15px;margin-bottom:25px\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pilotpensa.co.za\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/pilot-logo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23125\" width=\"209\" height=\"31\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/pilot-logo.png 339w, https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/pilot-logo-300x44.png 300w, https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/pilot-logo-150x22.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 209px) 100vw, 209px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe program has really gained traction in the last three years and reflects our commitment to provide high-quality PILOT products to all strata of the population,\u201d said Masahiro Horiuchi, director of PPSA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs African economies continue to develop, purchasing power will increase,\u201d said Groenewold. \u201cWe want PILOT to be the first brand that comes to mind when customers upgrade from an affordable pen to a more premium-quality pen \u2014 one that they will enjoy using and treasure for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pilotpensa.co.za\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>www.pilotpensa.co.za<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With over a century of providing innovative, stylish and high-quality writing instruments to consumers around the world, the Japan-headquartered company continues to draw international attention as a market leader. PILOT\u2019s pens have been used in South Africa for over 50 years. A subsidiary, Pilot Pen South Africa (PPSA) was established by Pilot Pen U.K. in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[277,292,259,202,283],"tags":[506],"class_list":{"0":"post-9906","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-277","8":"category-articles","9":"category-bridging-japan","10":"category-manufacturing","11":"category-south-africa","12":"tag-industrial"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pilot Pen South Africa \u2014 the mark of success - Bridges Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/pilot-pen-south-africa-the-mark-of-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pilot Pen South Africa \u2014 the mark of success - Bridges Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With over a century of providing innovative, stylish and high-quality writing instruments to consumers around the world, the Japan-headquartered company continues to draw international attention as a market leader. 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