The iconic Hollywood sign just may be the most well-known use of Colorbond steel in the 50 years since it was created in the Illawarra.
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Neglected for a number of years, the Hollywood sign fell into disrepair in the early 1970s.
Later that decade the sign was rebuilt and has undergone regular refurbishment since then.
And there is a belief within BlueScope that it’s their famous Colorbond steel up there in the Hollywood Hills.
“Unfortunately, we could never find the actual documents that support that but apparently it was made out of our US facility at Steelscape,” BlueScope’s corporate affairs manager Michael Reay said.
“We’re pretty confident it is Colorbond but we haven’t been able to support it with documents.”
That famous sign has inspired another one outside BlueScope’s Spring Hill plant – but this one says “Colorbond” and is designed to mark the half-century since the product’s creation in 1966.
“It’s five decades of celebrating what is completely and utterly a loved brand by the business,” said BlueScope’s general manager of sales and marketing Jason Ellis.
“It’s an iconic brand and this is the chance for BlueScope and its employees to celebrate its 50th birthday.”
Aside from the sign on a hill in Hollywood, Colorbond has featured in a number of buildings for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the Melbourne Tennis Centre.
And most notably, on house roofs all over the country.
Colorbond was born and totally developed in the Illawarra by our scientists, BHP students and employees.
- BlueScope's Jason Ellis
“Corrugated roofing is probably most synonymous with the name but in fact it goes into fencing, it goes into garage doors, face profiles in the sides of buildings, it goes into water tanks and hot water tanks,” Mr Ellis said.
The Colorbond product has been really successful for BlueScope and is an example of the work that can come out of the steelmaker’s Port Kembla plant.
“Colorbond was born and totally developed in the Illawarra by our scientists, BHP students and employees in the Illawarra and we’ve got 50 years of research and technical capabilities that support its continued growth,” Mr Ellis said.
“It’s a really fantastic success story not only for the Illawarra but for Australia in general.”