WISPA21_Daily_3

WWW. WISPA .ORG 7 www.bekabusinessmedia.com DAY 3 P reformed Line Products has unveiled a new brand platform, which focuses on the company’s long-standing commit- ment to provide precision-engineered solutions, quality products and unparalleled service, said the company. As part of its new brand platform, the company will also begin using PLP as the primary brand name. “Although we may be best known as the inventor and world’s largest supplier of heli- cally formed wire products for the electric power and communications industries, among many others, we are also much more than this,” said PLP chairman and chief executive officer Rob Ruhlman. “After nearly 75 years of organic growth, acquisitions and progress, PLP is a much larger and more diverse company, both in product line breadth and geographic footprint. As such, we feel that our already well-known short- hand of PLP better aligns with the diverse and growing global company our brand represents. In the coming months, customers can expect to see visual branding changes, but the core of PLP remains the same: we are and always will be ‘The Connection You Can Count On.’” The company also introduced several new visual identity elements to complement the new platform, including a revised color palette, corpo- rate typeface and brand logo. The updated logo is the most visually apparent change. It was redesigned to reflect modern design aesthetics and application needs while still retaining the company’s well-known heritage. “It’s not an easy task to modify an already strong brand, but we believe these enhance- ments strike just the right balance of honoring our past, encompassing our present and opti- mizing for our future,” said Ryan Ruhlman, vice president, marketing and business development for the company. PLP’s corporate marketing communications team partnered with Cleveland-based adver- tising agency Marcus Thomas LLC on the brand platform and visual identity elements. “After a lengthy brand discovery and anal- ysis phase, our team developed a new brand mission and vision, ‘We protect the world’s most critical connections to provide stronger and more reliable networks for everyone,’” said Josh Nelson, PLP manager, marketing commu- nications. “This identity helps to solidify who we are and what we do. When coupled with our new list of primary brand values, it creates a strong message about what the PLP brand stands for. This consistent messaging then led to our evaluation and ultimate refinement of all of our existing brand elements.” PLP said it will gradually introduce the new brand enhancements during the next several months. m Visit PLP at WISPAPALOOZA 2021 booth #343 or go to www.preformed.com. V ertical Bridge REIT, LLC, one of the largest private owners and operators of communications infrastructure in the United States, has realized 100 percent carbon neutrality for the second consecutive year. Dedi- cated to the goal of net zero emissions, Vertical Bridge began a proactive review of its environ- mental footprint in 2020, which resulted in its initial CarbonNeutral Certification in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol and subse- quent renewal this year. “It is critical that we continue to find ways to mitigate environmental impact as our industry deploys 5G and other emerging technologies,” said Vertical Bridge CEO and co-founder Alex Gellman. “I am tremendously proud of our entire team’s efforts to lead the industry, as we were the first communications infrastructure company to become carbon neutral and will continue these efforts year after year.” With prompting from only internal stake- holders, Vertical Bridge undertook a rigorous assessment of its emissions and carbon footprint in partnership with Natural Capital Partners, an independent consultant and leading expert on carbon neutrality and climate finance. The assessment looked at direct emissions from towers and communications infrastructure, offices, business travel, HVAC, material trans- portation and other parts of its carbon footprint. “While this recertification is important, it is only one piece of our overall ESG program,” said Bernard Borghei, co-founder and executive vice president of operations for Vertical Bridge. “Our multi-tiered approach currently includes the deployment of a renewable energy microgrid solution in California, which we hope to scale across many sites in our portfolio. We continue to support projects across the U.S. which reduce and remove greenhouse gases and partner with organizations at the grassroots level.” Vertical Bridge supports a range of programs and initiatives to better the lives of the people and communities it serves, said the company, and these include five projects across the country and Canada that directly reduce and remove greenhouse gasses. These organiza- tions include Grasslands Portfolio, Seneca Meadows Landfill Gas, Mississippi Valley Refor- estation, Darkwoods Forest Conservation, and the Lee County Waste and Energy Facility. m Vertical Bridge is a gold sponsor of WISPA- PALOOZA 2021. PLP Showcases Updated Brand Platform, New Visual Identity Elements Vertical Bridge Achieves Carbon Neutrality for Second Consecutive Year PLP’s revised brand logo