BlueScope Steel is dropping the word "steel" from its name, in a push to become known simply as BlueScope.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The change has been gradual and without fanfare but the company's media releases from January and its most recent annual report in 2012 carry a new logo without mention of steelmaking.
The new brand reflects BlueScope's emphasis on prefabricated buildings and value-added steel products, rather than simply hot-rolled coil, as it pushes more into Asia.
Yesterday, a BlueScope spokesman said it had been a "subtle" transition since the new corporate brand was adopted in July 2012 as the company restructured.
"It's been over a decade now since BlueScope Steel was launched and the new name better reflects the diverse business BlueScope has become during that time," he said. "Now a global business with more than 16,000 people across 17 countries, we are recognised as market leaders in value-added steel building solutions and building products.
"For cost effectiveness, the change has not been a wholesale rebrand but rather, a gradual migration. Essentially, under the normal course of business, as and when new or replacement collateral falls due, the new 'BlueScope' brand will be adopted."
BlueScope's move follows its rival, Australian steelmaker OneSteel, last year changing its name to Arrium to reflect its diverse interests.
Dr Shaun Powell, a senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Wollongong, said the move was not surprising if BlueScope was diversifying - but it could risk alienating the company from its heritage.
"Often when CEOs are trying to create a vision and a mission, if you've tied yourself down to a particular industry it can limit you," he said. "So really, they've removed the steel - the industry aspect - out of it.
"The issue you have is that you could remove the underlying corporate identity and the associations with the company's heritage."
But Dr Powell said the move made sense.
"I think it's a logical move myself for BlueScope to do that, so it has more agility," he said.
"If you have that industry bolted into your name ... it could be seen as an image problem for some of your customers. They're trying to show they've got a wider skill base than just producing their traditional core product."
The change recalls some other big-name rebrandings that removed an industry identifier from a company's brand - National Australia Bank becoming NAB, Radio National's current attempt to be known as RN and the almost-forgotten shift from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC.
The company is still officially known as BlueScope Steel Limited, a name reflected in its stock exchange code, BSL.
The sign at the main north gate to the Port Kembla steelworks still bears the name BlueScope Steel, as do the trucks carrying Colorbond roofing from the facility.
