Dow Design presents new visual identity for ‘Milmeq’

Media release 18 May 2011

Dow Design presents new visual identity for ‘Milmeq’

Engineering company discovers brand essence through design

After a year of working together, Dow Design has revealed the new visual identity and company name for the merged businesses which formerly made up the Realcold Milmech group.

The engineering company which specialises in the manufacture of food processing systems for the international market, will now trade as ‘Milmeq’, pronounced mil-mek. A transition from Milmech, it acknowledges the group’s heritage and expertise, the ‘Q’, a subtle scientific reference to a company focus on thermodynamics and heat energy transfer.

The company began working with Dow Design through participation in the Design Integration Programme offered by Better By Design, a specialist group within New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) that connects ambitious, established companies with leading design practitioners to help their businesses grow.

“After years of mergers and new business divisions opening up, the Realcold Milmech group had lost brand consistency,” says Andy Jaquet, Strategic Development Director at Dow Design. “A confused brand identity was restricting company development. We needed to distill down its various business operations and understand the company as a whole so that we could tell its brand story in a clear and compelling way and release the handbrake for change.”

The new Milmeq branding creates standout and presence, communicating the company’s commitment to developing unique and inventive solutions for clients.

The logo, in modern curved, lower case letters embodies Milmeq’s friendly, yet innovative approach while ‘cross hatch’ marks represent the company’s focus on the highest standards of engineering. The colours running across the wider ‘flowing mesh’ branding, represent the transition from hot to cold which is core to Milmeq’s business.

The inspiration for the new look came from the innovative bespoke engineering solutions that Milmeq offers clients says Dow Design Senior Creative Will Fletcher.

“It sets Milmeq apart from competitors and was an important element for us to leverage. As innovation engineers, Milmeq’s aim is to create relevant and sustainable engineering so we also created the strap line ‘Engineering for the Future’, to be used wherever possible with the logo.”

To establish clarity in the marketplace about what Milmeq offers, new icons were developed to visually represent the four key areas of company expertise; Primary Food Processing, Materials Handling, Chilling & Freezing and System Care.

“Dow Design analysed the company’s operations and point of difference, helping Milmeq simplify its offering and identify its brand essence,” says Luiz Futterleib, Business Specialist at Better By Design.

As part of the Better By Design programme, staff engagement was a vital consideration. “It was essential that the new branding involved and excited staff,” says Kate Lawson, Business Development and Marketing Coordinator at Milmeq. “Dow helped make the new branding relevant internally, producing a staff engagement booklet and ‘Q Central’, a creative breakaway workspace that brings colour and fresh energy to our work environment.”

The new Milmeq branding will be used across all company collateral and touch points with the brand, including the company website, vehicles, signage, merchandise and stationery.

“Having combined the expertise and engineering skill set of four areas of our business, it was invaluable to work with a brand strategy agency like Dow Design at such a crucial time,” says Milmeq Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Wall.

“The process brought our visual identity into line with our company offering, helping us communicate the continuous innovation at the heart of our company.”

Dow Design’s strategic rebrand of Milmeq follows success in developing the branding for Auckland’s new Q Theatre, the redesign of the Alison’s Pantry section of New World and Pak‘n Save stores nationwide, as well as the recent rebranding of Columbine, Anchor, DB Export, Hellers, Primo and Brancott Estate (Montana) wines.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Dow Design:
Established in 1993 by Annie Dow, Dow Design creates brands that people love and connect with. They are known for bridging the gap between cutting edge design and commercial sense.

As well as work on such well known New Zealand brands as Fresh’n Fruity, Robert Harris, Kapiti cheese, Primo and Vogel’s bread. Dow Design has also created corporate identities for brands including Veda Advantage and Kellands Real Estate.

© Scoop Media