Brand transformation. Changing the fibre of its being

For a company that knows the ropes pretty well, it took an inordinate time for Garware Technical Fibres to find its true identity. Nine years, to be precise, for the rebranding.

Born as Garware Wall Ropes in 1976 as a company that made industrial ropes, textiles and nets used in fishing, agriculture and shipping, over the years, the company’s product range evolved. From fabrics that cover and protect radar equipment to manufacturing surveillance balloons called aerostats, from geosynthetics used in construction to technical textiles for the defence sector, it cast its nets wide.

Today, it makes over 20,000 varieties of products, with applications in industries as diverse as defence, construction, industrial safety, automobiles, healthcare, shipping and agriculture. Ropes are only a small part of the offering. So a name change was warranted. But it was not simple.

Vayu Garware, Chairman and Managing Director, Garware Technical Fibres

“We had been rigorously capturing the voice of the customer, but being a B2B company, we wanted to understand our journey for the next 30 years, and wondered if our brand reflects that,” explains Vayu Garware, Chairman and Managing Director, Garware Technical Fibres.

Pointing out that 80-90 per cent of the properties of its products come from fibres, Garware says, “That’s where our R&D is, that’s where our polymer technology is. That is the core of our being: fibres.” According to him, the maximum amount of time and energy in R&D is spent by the company in developing new features in fibres. The new name had to incorporate Fibres.

Given that technical textiles is a booming area, expected to touch ₹150,000 crore by 2020, and growing at 12 per cent per annum, and an important thrust area in the government’s Make In India programme, the direction was clear. To be sure, the company conducted a survey, both in India and overseas, where it had customers. The survey found that the Garware name was well-respected and trusted in terms of quality and reliability, but many were confused about the word ‘Wall’ in the company’s name. “I was even asked, is it a rope to climb a wall, and actually got several investor queries on it,” says Garware. Also, the earlier logo was not something that could be recalled.

When the company started, it was a joint venture with an American company called Wall Industries. “That JV ended within 2-3 years of the formation of the company.” Though the name was retained, it was not relevant, as Garware explains.

Rebranding consultant Arvind Hegde of Done & Partners was brought in. After several rounds of debates, deliberations, analysis and iterations, the company decided it was time to don a new name, a new logo and project a key message.

For the grandson of industrialist Abasaheb Garware, keeping a connect with the family name and colour was important, even though he ran his business completely independent of Garware Group of Industries. “Red has always been the colour of the Garware brand and we aim to stay committed to our roots and values,” he says.

The new logo has a rising sun, superimposed on a globe bathed in red. “The sun stands for everything good. It stands for warmth, energy. progress. It helps food to grow and helps fish to survive. It is very relevant for us,” says Garware.

As for the new tag line ‘Better ideas in action’, Garware insists it is essential to the core mission.

“Our job is to bring new ideas and weave them into new products and new processes, ensure strategy creation. But ideas without action mean nothing. It is really about execution and excellence," he says.

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