UZIN UTZ has been defining the market for 111 years, as a sustainable family business, operating globally as a full-range supplier of flooring systems and a driver of innovation in the industry. For the company's board, 111 years is a great moment to celebrate the UZIN UTZ brand family, with a new design. "The Art of Floor Systems" sees the Ulm- based company bring its six brands – UZIN, WOLFF, PALLMANN, arturo, codex and Pajarito – closer together under the UZIN UTZ umbrella brand with a new corporate design. Together, the brands are the cornerstone for professional craftsmanship and for high-quality system solutions covering all aspects of flooring.
Over the course of 111 years, UZIN UTZ has developed from a regional adhesive manufacturer to an international company and pioneer in the flooring industry. Led then as now by the Utz founding family, the brand family has grown continuously and delivering a unique level of expert knowledge that is combined into shared, core expertise in flooring.
Making the world of flooring a vocation: The Art of Floor Systems
"As a fourth-generation family business, we are a synonym for flooring expertise and want to expand that expertise further as a close-knit group of brands", explains Philipp Utz, Board Member for Sales and Marketing. "Because together we have the best solutions for all our customers' needs, including at an international level", says Philipp. "We want to provide crafts- men, builders and architects with professional solutions for floor work that they can use to design floors and spaces at the highest level". The two brothers, Julian and Philipp Utz, and the great-grandsons of the founder jointly lead the company as Board Members. The know- how of the individual brands has been brought together for the new joint campaign, "The Art of Floor Systems", under the UZIN UTZ umbrella brand. The brand presence is visualised by a new corporate design that clearly demonstrates the shared identify of the brand family, while also making all the brands clear recognisable with modernised logo and abstract graphics. Each brand shape is unique, just as the six brands are unique. The distinctive shape and colour for each brand are used on all packaging and media. Together, the shapes make up the new campaign visual for "The Art of Floor Systems".
Flooring solutions from a single source: the brands in the family support each other
"We are following the principle of endorsed brands", says Philipp Utz. "The single brands are strengthened by the umbrella brand. At point of sale, the new design makes it easier for consumers to recognise and associate the installation systems, coatings and tools as a 'family'. This is achieved by brand colours and abstracts combined with prominently highlighted product names, plus a clear and minimal font that is only used for essential information. Technical information is shown by internationally recognised pictograms. QR codes with country-specific information are also provided on all packaging."
Strong word mark and claims
For the new corporate identity, the logo of the UZIN UTZ umbrella brand has also been designed to fit the company like a glove. The lettering is interrupted in the lower half, putting the bottom 'floor' line centre stage. This symbolises the company's core area of expertise – in flooring. "In an era when many brands are losing direction and coherence, we are making a statement with our logo", Julian Utz confesses. This is also embodied in the 'Your Floor. Our Passion.' claim, which visually promotes the umbrella brand across all media.
111 years of UZIN UTZ: into the future with passion
At UZIN UTZ, 'Your Floor. Our Passion' is not just about passion for flooring. The claim also embodies the PASSION 2025 corporate strategy, which is based on the four pillars of Planet, Profit, People and Products & Services, pursued with passion by our employees and implemented in our projects. "We worked intensively on the new corporate design in 2021 with a focus on Products & Services as well, so that it can be presented to the our main stakeholders, 'Employees & Society', and our customers for the 'People' year of 2022", says Julian Utz, explaining the approach. "‘People' stands for the togetherness that the new brand identity of the group conveys. The subsidiaries were integrated into the company under a single name back in 2017. For us, establishing the umbrella brand is an important step in strengthening the shared idea of family and providing our customers worldwide with the best possible synergies and flooring solutions from a single source", adds board member Philipp Utz. In the process, the brand association of products for care, cleaning and floor maintenance has also been revamped. Previously housed under the RZ brand, these products are moving to the UZIN and PALLMANN brands. "Economic and social sustainability are as much a part of our DNA as sustainable products that deliver environmentally friendly and resource-saving construction".
A special website, videos, posters and a social media campaign are accompanying the launch of the "The Art of Floor Systems" campaign for an international audience. In November 2021, the countdown started for all employees on the company's intranet with daily reports on company history. 111 years of UZIN UTZ is the starting shot for "The Art of Floor Systems" – combining tradition with an ambitious vision of the future – a combination now in its fourth generation at UZIN UTZ. More information on www.the-art-of-floor-systems.com.
