About the client
Orion is one of North America’s largest manufacturers of industrial cordage. It started its operations in 1856 near Kitchener, Ontario, becoming the very first cordage company in Canada. Through investment in modernization, continuous introduction of new products, and a focus on manufacturing operations they’ve become a key supplier of cordage to a wide range of industries worldwide.
Zync hired to create a new brand
Orion Ropeworks and Canada Cordage join forces to become one of North America’s largest and most experienced manufacturers of premium industrial cordage.
The company initiates a rebrand to bring its families under one banner: Orion Cordage. This rebrand represents a refocusing of the company strategy: high-quality industrial cordage and the continent’s best customer service for a fair price. The company acquires the pull tape division of Fibertek industries to increase its presence in the domestic pull tape market.
How we developed the Orion Cordage brand
Our work started with research to better understand the marketplace and potential points of differentiation for the brand. This work solidified the importance of key brand elements, and illuminated opportunities for new ideas. Following our research and strategy process, we synthesized our findings to map our approach for all components of the rebrand.
We began by establishing the name for the merged company – leveraging Orion Ropeworks and Canada Cordage to create “Orion Cordage”. A unified name carried the history of both brands forward under one banner.
Next steps included refining the messaging to accompany “Orion Cordage”. We carefully considered a tagline to encapsulate all that Orion delivers to their clients – speaking to the quality of products and quality of service the company is known for. Our final tagline “Excellence at our core” not only reflects their commitment to quality, but is also a nod to their long legacy in the industry.
The visual brand began with the word Orion – referencing the constellation of companies that have made up the brand. A braided star is inspired by the rope-making process, and illustrates the coming together as one. A vibrant yellow represents a star, energy, and optimism, while blue speaks to space, trust, and reliability. The Orion wordmark is created with a clean sans serif font, modernizing the brand while acknowledging it’s history. The uppercase setting and a delicate curve of the R are carried forward and reimagined in the new wordmark, accompanied by perfectly circular Os inspired by the industrial process of rope making. The result is a clean, modern, bold, and elegant industrial brand – illustrating Orion’s expertise and care for perfectly manufactured high-end cordage.
Our team developed additional brand elements with care, including corporate collateral, signage, packaging, and brochures. These items played a part in an expansive and flexible brand system, built to support Orion through the years to come.
Final outcome
The rebrand set the foundation for the company’s continued growth under a unified banner. With a new brand and digital presence, the Orion Cordage team launched into the marketplace with a sense of new direction and strength.
