The Journey of the Pencil Matthew Olson, Ryan Handley, Shelby Nease, & Ryan Coleman

Research and Product Development  Developed in the 16 th century, but has evolved into it’s modern version over time  Graphite from South Korea and Austria  Incense cedar, is found in the forests of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains  Rubber-the original foundation of erasers-are Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand

Marketing  Computer, magazine, and office supply store ads  Back to school commercials and sales

Manufacturing  Old-growth forests are often clear-cut to harvest timber for pencil production. Plantations then replace the forests, and trees generally grow for 14 years before they are removed to become pencils, about 2,500 per tree  Grooves are carved into the wood and the pencil's graphite core is glued into the slots. A second slab of wood is pressed on top, forming a sandwich around the graphite. The sandwiches are then trimmed into separate pencils  Erasers are made from natural or synthetic rubber. Natural rubber is made from the latex of rubber trees, while synthetic rubber is petroleum-based. Erasers are attached to pencils using casings made of aluminum, or brass for more expensive models

Packaging  Put into cardboard, labeled boxes

Sales, Distribution, & Transportation  Shipped in trucks to stores and distributed to stores throughout the world  Sold to customers at various types of stores

Consumer Use  People use these pencils every day at offices, schools, homes, etc.

Final Disposition  Potentially harmful to environment. Only when mixed with other products in landfills, will the pencils release methane.  Can be recycled for arts and crafts. Metal cannot be recycled.

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