The strange life of the Markovic family - Pencils and crayons made out of old newspapers by the "New Pen" are conquering Europe

They say that newspapers are going out of fashion, but for one company from Smederevska Palanka, this paper is a real treasure. Since its foundation in 2018, the company "New Pen" has conquered Serbia with unusual products - graphite pencils and crayons made from old newspapers and recycled paper.

They are the only ones in Europe involved in the production of such pencils and crayons, because they want to increase awareness of the importance of preserving nature. The use of recycled paper instead of wood, non-toxic materials, minimal energy consumption - are proof that orientation towards environmental protection is not just "empty words on a piece of paper".

Their hard work and persistence have been recognized - since the beginning of last year, they export as much as 85% of their production, mainly to Germany. And their idea is one of those supported within the project "EU for the Green Agenda in Serbia", which, with the technical and financial support of the European Union and in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, is implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden and the European Investment Bank (EIB), together with additional financial resources provided by the governments of Sweden, Switzerland and Serbia.

- We are very grateful to UNDP, which recognized our work and the possibility of growth and supported our project to make two completely new automatic machines that do not exist for the production of pencils and crayons from old newspapers and recycled paper and thus help us to speed up and improve our company - says Dragan Markovic, owner of the New Pen company from Smederevska Palanka, for the eKapija portal.

From film to reality

The entrepreneurial spirit has always existed in the Markovic family. Back in 2001, Dragan and his wife opened an internet club that, in the era of dial-up, offered users an ADSL internet connection, 35 times faster than the one they could have at home. When DSL internet connection became standard in Serbian households, they decided to open an Irish pub. While other cafes offered entertainment with folk music, their pub focused on Rock'N'Roll. In a decade of business, they have hosted more than 50 bands from all over the world, from Greece, France, to the USA and Australia.


- When research began on the process of producing ordinary wooden pencils and what kind of machines are needed, we learned that in China and India they also produce pencils from old newspapers and recycled paper. And at that point, there was no turning back! The very idea of producing something that is not being produced anywhere in Europe, and the fact that the product will be completely ecological, captured us so much that we spent weeks trying to find how it is produced and how the product works in general - says Markovic.

They got in touch with manufacturers in China who produce machines for these pens and then months of communication started with them about how it actually works. Markovic admits that he was quite skeptical at first.

- Most of the pencils that come from China and India are not exactly 100% ecological because most of them are put in some cellophane (that's what we got as samples), because of the design, or they are produced with resin-based glue, and we wanted our product to be high-quality, 100% ecological and healthy to use - says Markovic and recalls that, while the idea was still developing, he invited two friends, Bojan Vujkovic and Dejan Stevanovic, whom he knew thought in a similar way, introduced them to the concept and doubts and asked if they wanted to participate in the project.

These crayons are now conquering Europe. Since the beginning of last year, as much as 85% of production is intended for export. Distributors in Germany sell pencils and crayons in large retail chains (Müller, Galeria Kaufhof...), bookstores or via online sales.


Up to 3500 pieces produced daily

The production process is not simple. The first item is collecting or buying unread newspapers. Then the newspapers are stacked so that they can be cut in the sanders. One sandpaper is enough for one pencil/crayon. Then comes the slowest part of the job, which is manually pasting the graffiti into each newspaper. Next comes the rolling of newspaper and graphite into a pen on a semi-automatic machine.

- The next item on the list is drying. We bought three stoves that dry pencils, but we decided that they use up too much electricity, so we made a system to dry the pencils naturally. The drying process depends on the season, and takes a maximum of two days.

After drying, it is time to cut so that each pencil is the same length. It used to be done by a semi-automatic machine, but this hardworking team automated it, so now it works much faster and more precisely.

- After cutting, it's time to cut. The cutting machine was made for us by the same company that makes our automatic rolling machines. The machine was designed and built based on a 45-second video of a similar machine that we saw on YouTube - reveals Markovic.

When all the processes are finished, it's time to check the quality of (almost) every pencil and crayon and finally pack them into boxes. With this way of working, 3000-3500 pieces can be made daily, and all the material, except graphite, is purchased in Serbia.


- There are always new challenges. The current challenge we have - you won't believe it - is newspapers. Namely, the newspapers we use in production are in Cyrillic, and because of the war in Ukraine, many associate our products with Russia. We are now looking for a newspaper distributor abroad. We have the same problem with the markets in BiH, Croatia, Albania, where there is a desire of certain distributors to cooperate, but we have to change the newspapers - Markovic reveals.

In Serbia, people have environmental awareness, but they can't afford to pay

Even before submitting the idea to the UNDP competition, they started developing a prototype machine that will enable them to triple production and export products to the European market.

- Unfortunately, developing something new is not always so easy and simple, there are always some snags that need to be corrected. We are building machines that will be satisfactory for the products we currently have (pencils and crayons), but also for the products we plan to introduce to the international market at Insights-X in Nuremberg in October (erasable crayons, multi-color crayons, artist pencils with matte graphite). The graphite on those products will be of different diameters and we are trying to construct machines that will be able to make those products as well. In any case, the project is in the final phase and we hope that it will be finished by the end of the month - says Markovic.

What has been the same since the beginning, no matter what market they operate in, is the good reaction of customers. Unlike retailers, end users are thrilled to see these pens and crayons.

- I always stand by my words that in Serbia, people do have environmental awareness, but they can't afford to pay. People will want to buy organic products, but only if they can afford them. We try to keep our products in the same price range as other similar products (of course, much cheaper than the renowned German manufacturers), so that they are accessible to everyone - Markovic notes.

This company does not give up its commitment to environmental protection. The best indicator is the constant need to improve production. They are constantly developing new ideas that would ultimately lead to a fully rounded production process with zero waste.

- Along with the ecological development of production, we are also working on raising awareness of the importance of environmental protection. Our vision is to reach as many people as possible, especially the youngest, who would accept not only our products, but also our principles and ideas regarding the preservation of the environment. We hope that our example will encourage others to look into this topic more and try to contribute according to their abilities. That the preservation of the planet Earth becomes our common vision from which we must not deviate - Dragan Markovic concludes.

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CHALLENGE FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

The project of making pencils and crayons from recycled newsprint is one of 16 best business solutions for accelerating the green transition of the Serbian economy, selected among 140 proposals received at four Public Calls of the "EU Green Agenda in Serbia" initiative in 2022.

The new Challenge for Innovative Solutions for the Green Transition of the Serbian economy has been announced in February this year, and will be open until the end of 2026, with the aim of supporting innovative solutions in all five areas of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.

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NewPen d.o.o.

UNDP Beograd

New Pen doo

UNDP

Dragan Markovic

Bojan Vujkovic

Dejan Stevanovic

crayons from old newspapers

pencils from old newspapers

recycled paper

The Strange Life of Timothy Green

pencil production

Nuremberg fair

zero waste

environmental protection

EU for Green agenda