Faber's father, Eberhard (1822-79), opened a branch of the family's firm in New York in 1849, a year after having arrived there from Bavaria. In 1861, he decided that importing pencils from Europe had become too expensive, and opened the first factory to mass-produce pencils in the U.S., located in New York City. As time went on, he expanded his line to include pens, erasers, and other stationary items and, during this time, he was joined in business by his son, young Eberhard (1859-1946). Upon his father's passing in 1879, the young Faber took charge of the business, and dramatically expanded it. The plant in Brooklyn was incorporated as the Eberhard Faber Pencil Co., and the one in Newark, NJ as the Eberhard Faber Rubber Co.