Hydro Rebrands to Signal Company Change
11 December 2003 - 11:41PM
PR Newswire (US)
Hydro Rebrands to Signal Company Change OSLO, Norway, Dec. 11
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Norsk Hydro presented its new logo at the
annual Capital Markets Day today, a new symbol to reflect major
changes in the company. The company's logo and visual identity have
been modernized as part of an extensive process to clarify and
strengthen the Hydro brand. The new logo will be the official Hydro
symbol from the New Year and Hydro's offices and plants will be
rebranded in the course of the year. Various versions of a Viking
ship have been the key element in Hydro's logo since its origins in
1905; the existing version has been used for the past 20 years.
Hydro's fertilizer business will continue to use the Viking ship
symbol in its new logo and marketing once Agri is listed as a
separate company next year. "A new Hydro is emerging, and it was
time to take a new, fresh look at our symbol as part of a process
to define more explicitly both our identity and direction. Through
the new symbol, we hope to build on the best of our past to support
Hydro's strategies for the future," said Cecilie Ditlev-Simonsen,
head of Corporate Communications at Hydro. During the past few
years, Hydro has gone through massive changes, doubling its oil and
gas production, doubling and transforming its aluminium business
and becoming a much more international company with two-thirds of
its employees based outside of Norway. Following a portfolio
review, Hydro decided earlier this year to concentrate on
developing Oil & Energy and Aluminium going forward, while
establishing Agri as a separately listed company. Hydro defines
"brand" as the promise it makes to strengthen stakeholder
relations, based on its identity and value creating potential.
There are three pillars of the Hydro brand: A mission, a set of
institutional talents across the business areas and common values.
Hydro's mission is: "Hydro creates a more viable society by
developing natural resources and products in innovative and
efficient ways." "Hydro has an amazing history of achievements in
terms of business results, courageous investments, innovative
solutions and a strong culture. It's time we make a more conscious
effort to communicate what makes Hydro Hydro and how we make a
difference to customers and society in general," Ditlev-Simonsen
said. "Strong brands can charge a premium, have credibility when
expanding into new business areas and manage to attract and retain
investors as well as talented employees." Hydro's new logo and
overall design principles have been designed by Gene Grossman of
Siegel & Gale, a U.S. brand consultancy. Grossman has directed
corporate identification programs for world-class brands such as
Coca-Cola, Exxon, Texaco, Hilton Hotels, Dell Computers and
Lockheed-Martin. Certain statements in this press release are or
may constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements
that are not in the nature of historical facts may be deemed to be
forward-looking statements and may contain identifying words such
as "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "expects" and similar
expressions. These forward looking statements are based on Hydro's
current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about
the company and the industries in which it engages in business. All
forward- looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. For a
detailed description of factors that could cause Hydro's actual
results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by
such statements, please refer to its annual report on Form 20-F for
the year-ended December 31, 2002 and subsequent filings on Form 6-K
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. With respect to
each non-GAAP financial measure Hydro uses in connection with its
financial reporting and other public communications, Hydro provides
a presentation of what Hydro believes to be the most directly
comparable GAAP financial measure and a reconciliation between the
non-GAAP and GAAP measures. This information can be found in
Hydro's earnings press releases, quarterly reports and other
written communications, all of which have been posted to Hydro's
website (http://www.hydro.com/). DATASOURCE: Norsk Hydro CONTACT:
Cecilie Ditlev-Simonsen, Norsk Hydro, +47-22-53-20-97, or Cellular,
+47-41-55-92-50, Web site: http://www.hydro.com/
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