AKD’s new wrap design and new product names hit the market with a celebration of the company’s proudly Australian-grown and made heritage.

Over the coming months, the market will start to see AKD products being wrapped in a new plastic design. It features several changes, including:

  • A simplified company logo, dropping the ‘Softwood’ part of the name as part of its broader branding strategy;
  • The Australian Made, Australian Grown (AMAG) logo has been added;
  • A new termite-resistant blue pine product name for the Southern states– Terminator which is well known in the Northern state markets. This product is made at Colac, Tumut and Caboolture sites;
  • And a new name for AKD’s outdoor structural H3 range – Endura.

While AKD has always been Australian Grown and Made, the changes are part of a broader campaign to ensure this is both understood and prominent in its supply chain and particularly in customers’ yards.

AKD became an Australian Made Campaign Limited (AMCL) licensee last year. Research carried out by Roy Morgan shows the Australian Made kangaroo logo is one of the most trusted and well recognised Aussie symbols. Almost all Australians (99%) are aware of the logo and 88% trust the mark as an identifier of genuine Australian products. The vast majority (84%) associate the logo with supporting local jobs and employment and over half of Australians associate the logo with products that are of high quality (58%) and are produced using ethical labour (57%).

Despite this, Roy Morgan Research also found in 2017 that while three quarters of businesses had a preference for buying Australian products, only 26% of those surveyed had an official policy in place.

AMCL is throwing its support behind Australian manufacturers and growers, as they continue to lead the way in Australia’s recovery from Covid-19. “By calling on Australians to buy Australian right now, not only will we get products made to some of the highest quality and safety standards in the world, we can create local jobs and economic activity that will aid in the recovery process, while also strengthening our local manufacturing capabilities,” says Ben Lazzaro, AMCL chief executive.

AMCL is also calling on Australia’s business community and all levels of government to adopt ‘buy Australian first’ procurement policies, to help fast-track the country’s resurgence as it plans its recovery from the impact of Covid-19.

“Australia’s economic landscape will be forever changed, however there is an opportunity for all levels of government, as well as Australia’s business community, to take the lead and put policies in place that prioritise genuine Aussie products for major projects, supply contracts and everyday consumables,” Lazzaro says. “Reinvesting in local industry and local jobs through sustainable purchasing policies will go a long way towards helping Australia bounce back.”

AKD is a leading player in the push to buy local and encourages other suppliers to also market their products with prominent country-of-origin branding.

For more, visit www.akd.com.au