2015 Joseph G.E. Knight Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence

Richard Becker

Garland Writing Instruments, a manufacturer of fine writing instruments, was founded in 1927 by Louis Lanoie. The company then called LEW Manufacturing, manufactured small industrial presses, which led to the design and development of the internal pen mechanism used by many of the major pen manufacturers throughout the United States and Europe. In the ’60s, Lew Manufacturing started making complete pens and pencils and changed its name to Garland Industries.

In May of 2013, Rick Becker purchased Garland Industries, now called Garland Writing Instruments, with the intention of growing the business and keeping the company in Rhode Island. A longtime RI resident, Rick believes in sourcing products locally. “Most of the material we use in our manufacturing process is either sourced in Rhode Island or nearby states.”

After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, Rick started his career designing automated test equipment for General Electric and then went on to become the Senior Test Engineer at Sippican Ocean Systems, Operations Manager at American Power Conversion, and Vice President of Operations at Goldline Controls.
He has completed a Fellowship program at BU School of Management in Leading Clean Energy Ventures and has served on the Industrial Advisory Board of UMass Dartmouth.

Rick’s experience in operations has helped him reduce many of Garland’s day to day expenses, but to truly get the company back into a growth mode, Rick realized he needed help from marketing and sales experts. “I needed a low cost, effective way to reach not only our existing customer base but also potential new customers. We have a great quality product that is made in America. We just need to make people aware of the quality and value our products offer.”

To help increase awareness, Rick reached out to SCORE councilors for their expert advice. Together they developed a long-range marketing strategy and are now working on its implementation. Over the last nine months Garland’s business has started growing again. “We still have a long road ahead of us, but I feel confident in the plan we have in place.” As Garland’s business grows, both domestically and abroad, Ricks plan is to continue investing in the business, its employees and the surrounding community.

Garland became a charter member of the ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute) in 1965. Garland is proud of its many notable accomplishments and is one of the original designers and patent holders for the twist action pen mechanism. Garland products have flown on both Apollo moon missions and many of the Space Shuttle missions. In 1969 Garland developed the Photo Top pen, which greatly enhanced the promotional value of their writing instruments. Garland pens have even been used by Governors and Presidents to sign legislation into law.

Rick is not the only family member with entrepreneurial spirit. His wife, Beth owns and operates Cool Beans Cafe in Narragansett. His son, Mike, graduated from Boston College and is a PHD candidate at Northeastern University. His daughter, Sara, is a junior in mechanical engineering at Villanova University.

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