outh Carolina textile giant, Milliken & Co., has unveiled a new company logo and brand identity for its specialty chemicals, floor coverings and performance materials divisions.

Company leaders said the company is shifting its focus to innovation, which they hope will foster long-term growth. Company spokesman Richard Dillard said today the Spartanburg company has been planning the strategy that focuses on health, safety and sustainability for more than two years.

The new logo is based on the signature of Dr. Robert Milliken, who lead the company for more than a half-century, and died in December last year. The company considers the logo to be “simple, playful, bold” and signaling “a continuing commitment to excellence, leadership, and ethics.”

The previous logo contained a symbol called the “industrial M”, which has served the company for decades. American Trademark Designs claims it was designed in 1970 by Lefkowith, Inc.

SALT Branding from San Francisco aided Milliken in developing the new brand strategy.

Some have compared it negatively to similar logos that precede Milliken’s redesign:

This video (from the Milliken site) ends with a nice animation of the new logo with blue liquid flowing through glass tubes.

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The following news article was published by SALT on their website:

With over 150 years of history, Milliken a global manufacturer of specialty chemicals, floor covering, and performance materials has unveiled a new brand identity as it continues its focus on innovation problem solving and the development of products and services that add value to people’s lives, improve health and safety, and support sustainability.
SALT worked with Milliken over the last year, developing the brand strategy and positioning and ensuring a highly integrated role for the new branding as the company moves into this transformative phase in their evolution.
“Our new identity is an affirmation of who we have always been,” said Dr. Joe Salley, President and CEO of Milliken & Company “a community of innovators invigorated by the challenge of finding new and creative way to enhance people’s lives.”
The new brand identity is based upon the signature of the late Roger Milliken, the company’s former chairman and 70-year leader. Roger Milliken was famous internally for his hand-written notes that are often kept by employees for years. The new logo expresses that personal connection that is so important to the company, and the design system even includes a customized script typeface, titled ‘Thank-you’, that keeps that idea alive. The logo design also reinforces the playful approach the company applies to its problem solving, and is a simple and bold statement that adds a personal touch and accessibility to the business.
The logo will be applied to all marketing and business communications over the coming months ranging from brochures, signs, trucks, and packaging materials, and will be part of a new website and gallery experience scheduled for launch later in the year.

Milliken & Company Facts

• Holds 2,200 patents
• Employees: Approximately 7,000, including over 100 PhDs
• 39 manufacturing facilities located in the U.S., U.K., Belgium, France and China, with other sales and service operations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.
• Areas of Expertise: Specialty Chemicals, Floor Coverings, Specialty Fabrics, Performance Products

Leadership

Roger Milliken became President of the company on the death of his father in 1947, and served in that capacity until 1983. That year, he became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Milliken & Company and named Dr. Thomas J. Malone as President and Chief Operating Officer. In 2002 Dr. Malone retired, and Dr. Ashley Allen was named President and COO, becoming CEO in 2006 as Mr. Milliken stepped aside from daily management. In 2008, Dr. Allen retired and was succeeded by Dr. Joe Salley. Mr. Milliken continued as Chairman of the Board until his death on December 30, 2010.

History

Milliken & Company’s roots go back nearly 150 years to 1865 when Seth Milliken & William Deering founded Deering Milliken Company, a small woolen fabrics jobbing firm in Portland, Maine. William Deering left the company a few years later and started the Deering Harvester Company, which is today known as Navistar. In 1868, Seth Milliken moved the company headquarters to New York City, at that time the heart of the American textile industry. In 1884, the company invested in a new facility in Pacolet, South Carolina, and from that basic beginning the manufacturing operations grew. In 1976, Deering Milliken officially became Milliken & Company. With headquarters in Spartanburg, SC, today the company operates in a number of diverse disciplines including specialty chemicals, performance products, floor coverings, specialty fabrics and business consulting services.

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