Logos of the SKW Trostberg AG
The beginning
The merger between Bayerische Stickstoff-Werke AG (BStW) and Bayerische Kraftwerke AG (BKW) in 1939 created the Süddeutsche Kalkstickstoff-Werke AG, whose name was changed in 1978 to SKW Trostberg AG. While BStW was founded in Munich in 1908 by the Cyanidgesellschaft mbH and BKW was not established until 1920 in Berlin by the German Reich, the companies’ simple logos are identical as far as their basic concept is concerned, demonstrating the close collaboration between these two companies right from the outset.
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| Bayerische Stickstoff-Werke AG (BStW), 1908 | |
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| Bayerische Kraftwerke AG (BKW), 1920-1939 | |
The farmer spreading fertilizer
When Bayerische Kraftwerke AG (BKW) took over the calcium cyanamide production plants in Trostberg, Bavaria, from Bayerische Stickstoffwerke AG (BSTW) in 1939, it moved its headquarters from Berlin to Trostberg and changed the company name to Süddeutsche Kalkstickstoff-Werke AG (SKW). The highly graphic logo designed following this move depicts a farmer spreading fertilizer from two sacks over a field. The farmer, sometimes difficult to identify as such, was also referred to as the “little nitrogen man”, and less respectfully, as the ice hockey goalkeeper (because the fertilizer sacks resembled an ice hockey goalkeeper's leg pads). This logo was by no means as widely used as logos are today. |
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| SKW-Logo, 1939 | |
The beginning
SKW's increasing internationalization and its many activities beyond those in the original calcium cyanamide sector, finally gave rise in 1973 to a new logo based on the SKW Trostberg lettering. To meet the challenge of globalization, a striking logo had to be found, whose shape and color would be instantly recognized everywhere. Moreover, with an eye to internationalization, foreign subsidiaries were required to use a standard logo, although their own company name would also appear in the bottom line (e.g. SKW America). |
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| SKW-Logo 1974 | |
The stock exchange listing logo
When SKW Trostberg was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on May 24, 1995, the previous logo was slightly modified. It now looked more powerful, discarding some of the more delicate features and creating a clear emphasis on the final dot. The original idea was to add short descriptions of the individual divisions and subsidiaries as necessary after the dot. This part of the logo never materialized, but the dot remained. |
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