German chemical firm Rudolf GmbH is debuting a new branding look for its 100th birthday. The company, which develops environmentally friendly chemical solutions for the textile and construction industries, has unveiled a new logo to bring it into its next century.
“Each birthday is an opportunity for reflection and correction,” Alberto De Conti, head of the marketing and fashion division at Rudolf, told Rivet. “The 100-year anniversary of Rudolf is the culmination of a thorough analysis that allowed Rudolf to define its major strategic goals as well as the steps required to get there. It’s time for progress and expansion, and rebranding is definitely the best way to celebrate and signal such changes.”
Reinhold Rudolf founded the company, then Rudolf & Co., in 1922 in Geretsried, Bavaria. Three years later, Ernst Schumann acquired shares in the company. “In the turmoil of WWII, contact with the company founder Reinhold Rudolf broke off and his trail is completely lost,” said Dr. Wolfgang Anton Schumann, managing director of Rudolf. Schumann is the third generation of his family to lead and own the company, and has been in his position since the 1970s. During his tenure, he oversaw the group’s global expansion.
Rudolf’s earlier logo was an “R” with liquid depicted in the top loop of the letter. The new logo takes a circle shape and two lines from the heritage insignia to form a more abstract “R.” While the reference was the company’s traditional logo, the new mark aims to represent Rudolf in the next century, including its global focus.
“The new corporate brand is extracted directly from Rudolf’s celebrated heritage brand and it builds a meaningful bridge from the company’s glorious past to a future that can only be bright,” De Conti said. “Business is an evolutionary process, and we all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. At Rudolf, we recognize that past generations paved the way for us and equipped us with valuable assets and know-how. It’s only by following in their footsteps that we’ll be able to become the leading textiles chemical company.”
Per Rudolf, three constants of its brand have been “trust, reliability and inclusiveness.” And another permanent element in its products is science. Among the company’s offerings are water repellants, antimicrobial finishes and washing agents.
Rudolf describes the combination of “modern, chemical R&D” with “environmental consciousness” as “aspirational chemistry.”
One example of the company’s eco-conscious developments is its Offuel range of denim finishing agents that are made using alternative materials to crude oil. Another recent debut is Cycle-Logic, which chemically recycles polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics into raw inputs that can replace fossil fuels in Rudolf’s manufacturing. For instance, Cycle-Logic products include a moisture management technology, dispersing agent and dyeing auxiliary.
De Conti said Rudolf’s second century “will be about innovating from the core and developing an industrial and commercial network that allows us to be even closer to our markets.”
“As we grow to matter, we’ll be always small enough to care,” he added.