A. T. Cross Company
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Accessory, Optical |
| Founded |
Providence, RI, United States 1846 |
| Founder | Richard Cross |
| Headquarters | 229 Promenade Street, Providence, RI, United States |
|
Area served
|
United States Europe |
|
Key people
|
Russell A. Boss (Chairman) Robert Baird (CEO) |
| Products | Writing instruments, Stationery, Accessories |
| Revenue |
 US$ 158.3 million (2010) |
|
US$ 9.32 million (2010) |
|
|
US$ 6.37 million (2010) |
|
| Total assets |
US$ 144.63 million (2010) |
| Total equity |
US$ 72.47 million (2010) |
|
Number of employees
|
105 in Rhode Island; 830 worldwide |
| Website | www.cross.com |
A. T. Cross is a traded (NASDAQ: ATX) American company that competes in the fine writing instrument and journal businesses.
Cross manufactures and distributes fine writing instruments, journals and accessories worldwide.
The company was founded in 1846 in Providence, Rhode Island, and initially manufactured gold and silver casings for pencils, reflecting the Cross family's history as jewelers. The company was founded by Richard Cross who passed it on to his son Alonzo T. Cross. The company developed many innovative new writing instruments, including forerunners of the modern mechanical pencils, and the earliest stylographic pens.
The company moved its headquarters to a large facility (about 155,000 square feet) in Lincoln, Rhode Island in the 1960s.
After trading on the NASDAQ for five years (under the now-defunct symbol ATX), the company was sold to Clarion Capital Partners LLC in 2013. but retained its headquarters in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
In May 2016, with its headquarters in Lincoln becoming too large, the company accepted a set of tax credits and incentives in exchange for moving its headquarters to Providence, Rhode Island. The new headquarters, measuring about 4200 square feet, is located at The Foundry, the former Brown and Sharpe Manufacturing Company Complex at 299 Promenade Street in Providence. Most employees were moved to the new location by October 2016.
Cross has been an official supplier of pens to the White House since at least the 1970s. The pens used to sign legislation are often given out as souvenirs who attend the bill signings.
While an official Cross-White House program was begun under president Bill Clinton, it is known that the tradition goes back to at least the administration of Gerald Ford. All presidents from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump signed legislation using Cross pens; it is unknown if earlier presidents did so. Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton favored the Cross Townsend model; Obama later switched to the Century II model in black lacquer, with black medium point refill.
The Trump administration continued the tradition by placing an initial order for 150 Cross Century II pens in January 2017.
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signs state laws using Cross pens.
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Wikipedia