January 16, 2012 – St. Thomas, Ontario
The goal of making St. Thomas a leader in the energy sector has begun its “ascent.” At a media conference today, the new corporate brand for Ascent Group Inc. (Ascent) was revealed to the public for the first time. It forms part of a new growth strategy that the company is implementing in order to access larger markets and projects in the electrical services industry.
Wholly owned by the City of St. Thomas, Ascent is the result of a rebranding of St. Thomas Holding Inc. as well as its for-profit business lines, which are St. Thomas Energy Services Inc., Tiltran Services Inc., Lizco Sales Inc., Tal Trees Inc., ECM Controls Inc. and Terra Vox Inc. Although also owned by Ascent, St. Thomas Energy Inc. – as an electricity distributor regulated by the Ontario Energy Board – will not be affected by this rebranding.
“This is an exciting time in our company’s history,” says Brian Hollywood, CEO of Ascent. “We will be strengthened by our ability to now market our full range of energy solutions under one unified brand that complements our world-class capabilities.”
The name Ascent was chosen because it represents the brand attributes of growth, innovation and accessibility. It’s also powerful, inspirational and positive. The logo’s main graphic element is a stylized capital A with clean lines that point upwards to suggest growth. A warm yellow and red were selected as the new corporate colours after focus group research indicated that they are most associated with the energy sector.
“The industry has seen tremendous change in the past few years and we’ve stayed competitive because of the progressive nature of our company and our people,” says Hollywood. “We have a mandate to be entrepreneurial and profitable for the benefit of St. Thomas – and it’s something we’ve been steadfast in achieving. Our new sales and marketing strategy helps us continue this momentum.”
Ascent’s accomplishments include having the most high voltage installations approved by Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority for eight consecutive years, being a forerunner in wind and solar technology and having the country’s largest privately-owned new transformer inventory. Additional information about Ascent can be found at www.ascent.ca, the company’s website.
The rebranding is not the result of a merger or buy-out -- it positions the organization for future growth and job creation. Ascent Group Inc. remains wholly owned by the City of St. Thomas. Its employees’ jobs are secure.
In compliance with Ontario Energy Board regulations, the rebranding as well as the sales and marketing strategy are funded from the for-profit side of Ascent’s business. No monies from St. Thomas Energy Inc. or St. Thomas residents’ hydro rates or municipal taxes are used.
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