OTK's rebranding as Afgri reflects corporate transformation

Chief Executive Graham Ebedes says the name Afgri was chosen as an umbrella name for the group because it embraced the concepts of "agri services" in the broadest sense of the word and "Africa" as the group's sphere of operation.

"The design reflects a company firmly rooted in its vision to become a leader in agricultural business by providing world-class full-spectrum services through growth and innovative ideas," explains Wessel Hamman of Big Door, the agency which developed the name change and logo.

"A bold but simple new logo supports these concepts. The logo symbolises Afgri's core values: agriculture, global reach, services, business and Africa. All this is simply captured in a visual representation which at once symbolises wind-blown crops in the shape of a sphere, over-laying a map of Africa."

"The blue type represents corporate strength and stability while the green shapes indicate growth and prosperity. The green is also used to represent the world, with Africa to the fore."

"A great brand requires deliberate planning, execution and integrated management. The Afgri corporate identity manual currently under design will ensure that consistent corporate communication enhances this new brand with clients and the general public."

OTK (Oos Transvaal Kooperasie) derived its name from the Eastern Transvaal at a time when agricultural cooperatives were regionally defined and offered limited services to farmers. The Eastern Transvaal has since been subsumed into Mpumalanga, while OTK had moved into new geographies and expanded its range of products and services.

The existing strong group brand names, such as OTK and Clark Cotton, will remain and, where appropriate, be strengthened under the new umbrella Afgri brand.