Kokuyo Camlin Limited

Kokuyo Camlin Limited is an Indian manufacturer of art materials and stationery, listed on BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India. It sells art supplies under the Camel brand and stationery under the Camlin brand. The business began in 1931, when Digambar Dandekar started making ink powder during the Swadeshi movement. The firm traded as Dandekar and Co. before being renamed Camlin in 1946, a name formed from Camel and Ink. In 2011 Kokuyo S&T Co., Ltd. of Japan acquired a controlling stake in Camlin Limited and the company became Kokuyo Camlin Limited. The company is separate from Camlin Fine Sciences Limited, which was demerged from the same group in 2006 and makes food antioxidants and fine chemicals rather than art materials. The two are distinct listed companies. Alongside the product business, the company runs long standing art programmes for students and artists, including the Camel Art Contest for school students, the Camel Art Foundation, Camel art workshops and an artist gallery. Products are exported to 26 countries, with major markets across SAARC, the Middle East, the Far East, Mauritius, Ghana, the United States and Japan.