VOTE: Work to start on removing Corus name from steelworks
WORK will start later this month on removing the name Corus from the 2,000-acre Scunthorpe steelworks – almost 11 years after the company was formed.
The major rebranding exercise will see the company fully integrated into the giant Tata Group, which also owns the Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley Tea businesses in the UK.
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The Corus steelworks in Scunthorpe will be rebranded as Tata Steel Europe in an 18-month exercise
The move – the fourth name change in two decades – comes more than three years after Tata paid £6.2 billion for Corus in April 2007.
The 4,500 employers in Scunthorpe have been told the changeover to Tata Steel Europe will take 18 months to complete.
But company chiefs have declined to discuss the cost of the exercise – which is expected to run into millions of pounds.
The starting date for the rebranding exercise in Scunthorpe is September 27.
Primary signage at the site, including the main entrances, will be replaced in time for the launch.
New work uniforms with the Tata logo will be piloted.
Other immediate changes will involve IT systems, stationery and a new intranet.
A Corus spokesman said: "The key principle behind the rebrand is frugal yet impactful. Therefore, the changes will not all be visible overnight.
"The roll-out is set to take 18 months and most changes will happen as items are naturally replaced, such as work-wear.
"Customer-facing signs at key sites such as Scunthorpe will be replaced in time for the launch with plans to replace other signage within the 18-month transition period".
The rebranding will be the fourth name change for many Scunthorpe steelworkers in the past 22 years.
The former state-owned British Steel Corporation was privatised as British Steel in 1988.
In October 1999, Corus was created following a £3 billion merger between the Dutch firm Hoogovens and British Steel.
The name was derived from the Latin verb coruscate – meaning to sparkle.
6 Comments
by Contax, Brigg, N. Lincolnshire
Thursday, September 09 2010, 9:38PM
“Don't think it makes much difference since the loss of all the original steel production company names from before nationalisation. I worked at App-Frod for a short period but could not get used to going to work to sleep, I was more used to going to work to work.”
by Billy Smarts, Circus
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 6:58PM
“We've had more name changes than than The Artist Formerly Known As Prince. We've had more chiefs than the Navajo Indians. We've had more deaths than the Falkland War.
We need stability but Kirby was just a disability.”
by oldie, Crobsky
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 11:50AM
“Nationalise, modernise, privatise.”
by oldie, Crobsky
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 11:48AM
“Nationalise, modernise, privatise. Labour or Tory, no difference.”
by Tony, Gunness
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 11:05AM
“Corus or Tata, I doesn't really matter. Losing 'British' in the brand name was the sad loss.”
by Mark, Plate Mill
Wednesday, September 08 2010, 10:40AM
“No wonder they're giving us free T'shirts with the Corus Logo on them, they're just getting rid of defunct stock and not treating us like they're having us believe.
I can see it now, us FEP shop floor workers running around with outdated Corus work wear whilst the staff grades all get brand spanking new TATA clothing.
But then, that's always been the case.”