Incorporated in December, 1946 to take over the business of Dandekar & Co., Kokuyo Camlin Limited (Earlier known Camlin Ltd) got its present name in 1988. Starting with stationery products, it has diversified into art materials and pharmaceuticals. Its products are marketed under the popular Camel and Camlin brands. Its stationery division has a wide range of products like fountain pen inks, rubber stamp inks, duplicating inks, adhesives, writing instruments and gift sets, fountain-pen nibs and ball-point pens, erasers, stamp pads, scales, carbon paper, etc.
The art material division supplies water colours, oil colours, poster colours, drawing inks, crayons, oil pastels, fabric colours, painting brushes, canvas, wooden and mechanical pencils, lead, markers; mathematical, engineering and biological instruments, etc. Bulk drugs like diloxanide fuorate, mebendazole, diazepam, etc, as well as a wide range of formulations (used in treating asthma, skin diseases, rheumatism, etc) are manufactured by the pharmaceutical division.
Camlin started commercial production of high polymer lead in Mar.'90, in technical collaboration with Pilot Corporation, Japan, and has become one of the few companies in the world manufacturing the product. The company's products are exported to east and west Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, etc.
The Company entered into a marketing alliance with Colart Fine Art and Graphics, UK, to market its Winsor & Newton premium range of colour products. Besides expanding its present manufacturing capacities, it set up a plant to manufacture industrial grade synthetic adhesives, which commenced commercial production in Mar.'96. The plant for manufacturing bulk drugs/chemicals, commenced commercial production in 1995-96. Camlin International was made a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
During 1998-99, the company has raised a sum of Rs.750 lacs from IDBI through Private Placement of 16.5% Non Convertible Secured Redeemable Debentures for financing capital expenditure & long term working capital.The Erstwhile Stationery & Art Material Divisions have been merged into Consumer Products Division w.e.f. 1st April, 1999.
In 2002, the company undertook major expansion in production of anti-oxidant range of products. It set up and operationalised a new industrial undertaking for expanding manufacturing capacities of Fine Chemicals at Tarapur and the commercial production has commenced from 27th March, 2003. Effective from 18th March, 2003, Company commenced operations of manufacturing various types of inks such as white board marker inks, permanent marker inks, gel inks and overhead projector marking inks at Taloja Plant. It also set up Camlin North America, Inc., U.S.A., as wholly owned Subsidiary Company.
It commenced commercial operations of manufacturing various types of marker pens at Vasai from 15th February, 2005 by setting up a plant at Vasai. In 2005-06, the Company formed a Joint Venture with ColArt Fine Art and Graphics Ltd., UK., for manufacture and export of Canvas products, which started commercial production and exports in April 2006. As a result, the demerger of Fine Chemicals Division into a separate Company was made effective from 1st July 2006. The members of the Company were allotted equity shares by Camlin Fine Chemicals Limited, in terms of the Scheme and the said Shares were listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Limited on 30th March, 2007.
It setup a new plant at Samba Phase I, Jammu for manufacturing various types of Colours such as Poster Colours, Crylin Colours, Premium Poster Colours, Glass Colours, Ceramic Colours etc. in 2007-08. It incorporated a 100% Subsidiary Company by the name of M/s. Camlin Kidstarts Limited in 2008-09.
The Company acquired 3,48,36,220 Equity shares of Re 1/-each representing 50.27% Equity stake and accordingly was made subsidiary of Kokuyo S&T Co., Ltd in 2009. The Company had ventured into the business of running pre-schools in the year 2009 and had set up a wholly owned subsidiary namely Camlin Alphakids Limited. In April, the entire stake of equity & preference shares amounting to Rs 2.3 Crores was sold to one of the promoter Mr. Dilip Dandekar along with his family members and associate company for a total consideration of Rs 0.5 Crores. The consideration was finalised based on an independent valuation and Camlin Alphakids Limited ceases to be subsidiary with effect from 1st April, 2014.
During the year 2015-16, the holding Company M/s. Kokuyo S & T Co Ltd, Japan merged into its 100% Holding Company Kokuyo Co Ltd, Japan w.e.f 1st October, 2015. In view of the merger, Kokuyo Co Ltd became the Holding Company and one of the promoters of the Company. As a result of this, Kokuyo Co Ltd, Japan got listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.