The Croatian company Penkala was founded in 1937 in Zagreb, evolving from a small pencil and pastel manufactory to a renowned trading company specialising in school and office supplies. The company's heritage, however, goes further back in time, to the innovations of Ing. Eduard Penkala, an inventor with Polish-Dutch roots, who created the world's first mechanical pencil in 1906 and a fountain pen a year later.

Penkala, born on 20 April 1871 in Liptovský Mikuláš, studied in Vienna and Dresden, where he received his doctorate in organic chemistry. After moving to Zagreb, Penkala became famous as the author of more than 80 inventions in various scientific fields, including aviation, mechanics and chemistry.

Together with Edmund Moster, he founded the Penkala-Moster company, which quickly became the world's leading manufacturer of writing instruments. Other achievements of Penkala include the invention of the rubber thermometer, as well as his contribution to the development of aviation, which resulted in the design of the Croatian aeroplane.

A plaque commemorating Penkala has been placed on the building where he lived, and some of the company's products, distinctive advertising or photographs are kept in the Zagreb City Museum. The building where Penkala's company operated has also been preserved.

Penkala died suddenly in 1922, leaving a lasting mark on the history of innovation and industry in Zagreb.