ORICA is Proposed New Name for ICI Australia

17th November, 1997

The board of ICI Australia Ltd announced today that the new name proposed for ICI Australia is Orica.

Managing director Philip Weickhardt said the board was extremely pleased with the outcome of the exhaustive search for a new name.

"Our aim was to select a name that was short, sharp, memorable and appropriate for a company taking bold steps forward into the new millennium. I believe we have achieved all of that with the new name," Mr Weickhardt said.

A prime objective of the search was to find a name that could be used right across the current and future organisation. "Orica is a name that we can own and develop in almost 50 countries and product areas where we operate now and where we may operate in the future."

The renaming of ICI Australia was a condition of the successful sale earlier this year of ICI PLC's 62.4 per cent shareholding in the company.

As a result of that sale we are now an independent Australia company with more than 43,000 new shareholders bringing the total number on the register to about 61,000, Mr Weickhardt said.

The last Annual General Meeting of shareholders under the ICI Australia banner will be held in Melbourne on 12 December, he said, and one of the motions to be put to the meeting will seek the approval of shareholders to change the companys name as required by the sale conditions.

The process of developing a new name and corporate identity for ICI Australia began as soon as ICI PLC's intention to sell its majority shareholding was known. FHA Image Design was appointed to manage the new logo and corporate identity change process.

The implementation of the new identity is a major task involving, among other things, changes of signage at over 100 Australian and international sites. The change of the logo on the landmark ICI House in Melbourne will be perhaps the most symbolic of those changes.

"Although there will be ongoing changes across the company we will still retain the values that are important to us such as our commitment to safety, health and the environment.

"Employee involvement is also an essential aspect of this process and we have teams and networks working tirelessly across the company to ensure that the change over runs as seamlessly as possible.

"The Orica organisation will present a much bolder face as we take on the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century," Mr Weickhardt said.

Subject to shareholder approval of the name-change motion, the first unveiling of the new logo and corporate identity will be made at the AGM, after the vote has been taken.

The Orica name and visual identity would officially take effect from 2 February, 1998.

BACKGROUNDER

ICI Australia's search for a new company name has been a monumental task involving networks and teams of employees across the company.

The search for a new name and logo began as soon as ICI PLC's intention to sell its 62.4 per cent shareholding was known.

Our aim was to select a name that was short, sharp, memorable and progressive. To help with the name selection employees were asked for their suggestions for a new name and, with the assistance of FHA Image Design, a list of approximately 900 names was generated.

Criteria for the new name was developed from research with our stakeholder, which included employees, customers and shareholders. Feedback also indicated that it should have little connection with the old corporate identity and that, although it need not be a descriptive name, it ought to give an impression of the business.

The list of 900 names was workshopped to a short list of 50 and these names were then submitted to stakeholder focus groups to gauge reaction and give direction. This feedback led to a tighter set of criteria and indicated that the name should most likely be an invented word.

The final task of choosing a name was significantly influenced by the fact that it needed to be registered in about 50 countries and across 25 product groups.

Research on the chosen name Orica indicated that people felt the name evoked words such as the future, knowledge, expertise and technology, all which were considered positive attributes.

MAGNITUDE OF THE CHANGE

As Australasia's largest chemical company the enormity of the change over process means hundreds of our employees will be involved in assisting with the following changes:

SIGNAGE

* Painting and erecting at least 550 new signs across all sites throughout Australia and internationally.

TRANSPORT

* More than 550 signs need to be changed on transport vehicles either owned or leased by ICI.

CLOTHING

* About 50,000 separate garments must be changed including protective clothing such as hard hats, overalls and lab coats.

STATIONERY

* Close to 500 ICI-branded stationery ranging from letterhead to stock control forms and more than 2500 individual business cards must be changed.

PACKAGING

* Thousands of products branded with the ICI trademark will need to be changed.