Big manufacturers show new direction with catchy English names
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By Park Jae-hyuk
Korean manufacturers were rushing to change their names into English portmanteaus and abbreviations during the proxy season last month, in order to show their business diversification plans or prevent confusion caused by the names of their affiliates and products, according to industry officials, Sunday.
The latest example was Doosan Enerbility, a power plant and turbine manufacturer that changed its name last Tuesday from Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction.
Doosan Enerbility explained its name combines “energy” and “sustainability,” while also showing its aspiration to “enable” sustainable energy technologies.
“The previous name could not adequately reflect our company's status quo, nor does it portray the future direction we are pursuing,” a Doosan Enerbility official said. “We decided to rename the company, so that the name is more aligned with the changing business environment and better reflects our company's future aspirations.”
HD Hyundai changed its name from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Holdings last Monday.
The new name expresses its willingness to let “human dreams” come true with “human dynamics,” according to the holding company of HHI Group.
It is also intended to prevent people from confusing the holding firm with the group's key subsidiary, HHI.
“We made the decision to strengthen our role as a holding company focusing on investments, breaking away from the image as a manufacturer,” an HD Hyundai official said.
POSCO Coated & Color Steel changed its name to POSCO Steeleon, March 21, as its previous name had been misunderstood as one of the products of its affiliate, POSCO.
“The new name is a portmanteau of steel, complete and iron,” a POSCO Steeleon official said. “It shows that we complete materials from POSCO by coating and coloring them.”
Last September, SK global chemical was renamed as SK geo centric, with the aim of focusing on waste plastic recycling technologies to protect the environment. SK Engineering & Construction also changed its name to SK ecoplant last May to push ahead with eco-friendly businesses.
However, there still remains criticism that their decisions to rename themselves will only incur tremendous expenses without increasing brand awareness.
According to industry officials, renaming a company could cost up to 100 billion won ($82 million), due to registration, trademark application, changing signboards and hiring consultancies.
“We came up with the new name after getting input from external experts and performing internal reviews,” the Doosan Enerbility official said.
Businesses are therefore advised only to rename themselves if they are confident about achieving tangible results.
“Without visible achievements, they could disappoint consumers and regret their decisions to abandon their previous brands,” said Suh Yong-gu, a professor of marketing at Sookmyung Women's University.
HD Hyundai even faced opposition from unionized workers over its decision to rename itself.
“The name Hyundai Heavy Industries was given in 1972 by late founder Chung Ju-yung, based on his desire to enable the company to grow into one of the world's best heavy industrial companies, and the holding company was originated from HHI,” the union said in a statement.
“However, immediately after the founder's grandson took control, he renamed it. The decision to change the name to HD Hyundai should be reconsidered.”