DARKNESS engulfed the vast ballroom and flashes of synchronised red neon lighting found their target – Tan Sri Dr Nik Norzrul Thani Nik Hassan Thani.

Dressed to the nines, the chairman of SD Guthrie Berhad (SD Guthrie), formerly SD Plantation, took to the stage, paying homage to the company’s extensive history and milestones before bidding adieu to the “Sime Darby” brand.

“Today marks the start of our new beginning as SD Guthrie. The board’s decision to move away from the Sime Darby brand was necessary.

“Shareholders gave us their overwhelming support, with 99.99% of them voting in favour of changing SD Plantation to SD Guthrie.

“With this rebrand, we (SD Guthrie) will have opportunities for growth that enable us to move away from traditional plantations and allow us to control our own brand with the strategic objective of embedding value in our own intrinsic brand name.

“It is important to celebrate our heritage. But for me, the future is more exciting.

“We, SD Guthrie, are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, and the work we are currently undertaking.

“Make no mistake, we are and always will be one of the leaders in the plantation industry but we are going to be much more.

“As a big landowner, a financially strong company, an industry leader, and employer of thousands of exceptionally bright people who are here tonight, we will move SD Guthrie to new heights,” said Nik Norzrul Thani in his opening speech during the company’s grand rebranding ceremony yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

There is only one chance to make a good first impression when it comes to introducing a new brand to the world, and SD Guthrie did it with a big bang launch.

Over a thousand guests, VIPs, key industry players, stakeholders, and employees attended the meaningful event and were entertained by the great Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza, the legendary Ruth Sahanaya, as well as singer Dasha Logan, violinist Joanne Yeoh, and comedian Douglas Lim – the entertaining host for the night.

The star-studded cast aside, the biggest wow of the night was an original musical, performed for the first time on Thursday, SD Guthrie: The Musical.

It is the story of the company from its origins in 1821, to the spectacular representation of the dawn raid of the London Stock Exchange in 1981 to “bring Guthrie home”.

Many in the audience were overwhelmed by the show, with one corporate figure rating it an 11/10.

In proposing “SD Guthrie” as the new brand, the company presents itself as a fully integrated player in the industry with a robust and rapidly growing downstream business supporting its world class upstream operations.

It also, most crucially, has potential beyond upstream plantations, particularly in the development of green industrial parks and renewable energy.

“Knowing what lies in our future, we wanted an international name that sounds strong, is timeless, flexible and holds meaning for us.

“We decided on SD Guthrie because it achieved all our objectives – it acknowledges our past and positions us for an exciting future,” said SD Guthrie group managing director Datuk Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha.

“We will amplify our commitments to sustainability, innovation and quality in our plantation business, even as we explore new business verticals that will allow us to realise the full potential of our assets,” Mohamad Helmy added.

With its new brand, SD Guthrie pays homage to its recent past as part of the Sime Darby group, as well as its origins more than 200 years ago with Alexander Guthrie.

The second part of the story is even more pertinent for Malaysians; the dawn raid, on that proud day in September 1981, when PNB acquired control of Guthrie from the London Stock Exchange, in just under four hours.

The company started out as a trading house in Singapore in 1821, called Guthrie & Co.

Over the years, through multiple corporate exercises, it grew into one of the largest plantation companies in the world.

A logo is arguably one of the most important assets of a business as it is the front face of its identity, which builds customer loyalty, supports marketing and advertising, and fosters pride among employees.

This new SD Guthrie logo represents the extraordinary legacy of the company, and the organisation it will be in the future.

The red and orange sunburst colours taken from the oil palm fruit, symbolise vibrance, vitality and energy.

Designed similar to a “Yin and Yang”, it shows the coming together of forces in balance and equilibrium, reflecting the new brand’s attitude.

On the one hand, it dares to push boundaries, to take the lead, and chart a new course for its business, while on the other hand, it will always do so with care and with nature at the heart of everything it does. SD Guthrie works with nature, for the greater benefit of all.

Moving forward, SD Guthrie’s upstream business in Malaysia will be known as SD Guthrie Plantation and there will be no changes to its upstream businesses in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.

They will remain as Minamas and New Britain Palm Oil.

The company’s downstream business will be known as SD Guthrie International with all its non-food businesses following its mother brand such as SD Guthrie Renewables, SD Guthrie Research.

The “Sime Darby” brand is owned and controlled by Sime Darby Berhad, the former parent company of SD Guthrie.

Since the demerger and its listing as the former SD Plantation six and a half years ago, it had operated under a licence, subject to the terms of a brand and trademark licensing agreement, paying an annual fee for the use of the “Sime Darby” brand.

This situation imposed significant constraints on the company’s ability to make its own strategic decisions for the brand and business.

Changing a brand name can sometimes lead to a loss of brand equity. However, as Sime Darby Berhad owns the Sime Darby brand, it does not present an issue to SD Guthrie.

A series of engagements with key stakeholders will be undertaken over the next several weeks to create awareness of the brand name change.

“We are actively and regularly communicating with employees, customers, and other stakeholders, emphasising that this name change will not alter our core identity.

“Our purpose ‘care to nourish, dare to flourish’ and core values ‘integrity, respect and responsibility, enterprise, excellence’ remain the same,” said Mohamad Helmy.

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