KLINGSPOR LOGO

The KLINGSPOR logo is one of the more unique and recognizable logos in the world of industrial supplies.

The very sight of it strikes fear into the hearts of abrasive competitors and brings a warm feeling to those who actually use the product. With a history as long as KLINGSPOR's, the evolution of a "logo" is a process that changes as the company changes and as the world markets change.

KLINGSPOR early on utilized three logos. One of the logos incorporated a crown with a castle.

The castle was used because KLINGSPOR was originally located in Siegen, Germany and the castle was a depiction of the castle in Siegen. The use of this logo became difficult when selling to countries that recognized royalty as leaders or figureheads. A crown could not be employed on anything that was not associated with the throne. So eventually this version of the KLINGSPOR logo was discontinued.

A second logo used the image of a deer. A deer appeared prominently in the KLINGSPOR family crest so this seemed an interesting way to integrate a bit of the family into the corporate identity.

Lastly, an old car was used as a part of one of the original KLINGSPOR logos.

After traveling to the United States to study the abrasive needs of a major car manufacturer, Carl Klingspor was requested to work on a new idea - wet or dry use sandpaper. With tenacity and hard work, Carl Klingspor invented and patented the product. Naturally a car would suit as a logo for Klingspor as they became embroiled in the manufacture of this material.

As time went on, KLINGSPOR realized that multiple logos were not accomplishing the goal of instant recognition.

It was decided in the late 1960's to consolidate and have only one logo. The sales manager during this time, Manfred Birkelbach, came up with the initial draft of the logo that is recognized today. With the help of Walter Klingspor and Gottfried Solms, a fine-tuning process was completed and the current KLINGSPOR logo was in place.

So what does the KLINGSPOR logo mean? Literally translated, the "spor" part of the word KLINGSPOR means "spur", thus the shape of a spur in the center of the logo.

From:http://www.klingspor.com/history.htm