IWMA to celebrate its 50th anniversary at wire 2020

The International Wire and Machinery Association officially launches its 50th anniversary year at wire Dusseldorf 2020 – by showing off a bold new look for the new decade.

The world’s largest and most influential corporate membership body for wire and cable industries will sport a new striking logo, new bold yet soft corporate colours and an entire brand tool kit among other changes and improvements.

The IWMA was founded in the UK in 1970 by a handful of visionary industry leaders and today promotes the interests of hundreds of corporate members ­– from global, billion-dollar industries to micro-companies offering specialist services on a small scale. The IWMA is also proud to include one of the world’s oldest wire-making companies as a member, Webster and Horsfall of Birmingham UK, this year celebrating its 300th anniversary.

The rebrand of the IWMA is part of a forward-looking strategy, explained executive manager Andy Lewis.

“Over the past couple of years we have been changing our internal structures to make ourselves more useful and vital to members, and the rebrand is the IWMA pointing itself at the 2020s and beyond, so we can be a broader, even more involved association.”

He added: “It is also a way of showing that the IWMA is an acknowledged leader in wire and cable representation. Our history and reach are unequalled and this reinvention gives us a weight and presence we might previously have allowed to be left unsaid.”

The rebrand involves a new look for the IWMA logo and corporate colours, striking new corporate literature and a new look for the exhibition stand seen at major wire and cable exhibitions around the world. The popular IWMA newsletter, WCN, has also been given a new look.

“This a major milestone in the life of a body that started very small, with just a handful of industry leaders who saw that wire and cable was an under-represented sector of a growing industry,” explained current association chairman, Martin Van Der Zwan.

“Today we see just how much the industry has grown in that 50 years, driving modern communication systems, transport infrastructure and the internet – wire and cable products literally connect both the world and the sum of human knowledge. It’s an extraordinary progression.

“The IWMA is right there with the industry, disseminating technical knowledge, helping members at exhibitions and with international representation, and taking a role in the education of tomorrow’s wire and cable engineers and scientists. I’m immensely proud to be chairman at this point in our history."

The IWMA is at wire 2020 on stand Hall 11 D22.