Aalen, November 2024 – Design as an unmistakable trademark – few would have thought that this could also work for lifting and lashing equipment. Yet RUD managed it. The company has been colouring its products pink for 30 years now – a move that irritated many a customer and was not uncontroversial within the company either. But the courage paid off in the end. Anyone who spots pink-coloured chains or lifting points now immediately associates the colour with RUD.
The design decision was prompted by a technological revolution: in 1994, RUD was the first supplier ever to launch a chain system in quality class 10 (grade 100). To make this innovation visually recognisable, the company looked for an unmistakable industrial design. The colour pink was ultimately chosen. In many areas of everyday life at the time, it was seen as a symbol of progressiveness and had a correspondingly positive connotation,” recalls Hermann Kolb, who was involved in the decision and is now head of the RUD Group’s lifting and lashing equipment division. The new colour scheme was initially the subject of controversial internal debate, but was quickly recognised as an opportunity and, together with the new quality class, was extended to the entire product portfolio. With the exception of lifting points for personal safety, where yellow is now standard throughout the market, almost all RUD lifting and lashing means are now pink.
Colour as an identifying feature and heat indicator
The design quickly caught on with customers. The initial reactions were mixed, as Hermann Kolb reports: ‘From incredulous shaking of heads to spontaneous applause for our courage, we experienced all possible reactions’. However, people quickly got used to the colour and it became a distinguishing feature that has given RUD an exceptional position on the market to this day. There is also a practical effect that is not found in this or in a similar form in any other lifting and lashing equipment: When chains, hooks or lifting points are exposed to high temperatures above 200°C, the pink layer gradually darkens depending on the temperature load. With the help of a colour chart developed by RUD, users can reliably identify the level of heat the component has been exposed to and whether it needs to be replaced. Not least because of this extremely positive effect, RUD would always opt for the unusual design in retrospect, as Kolb emphasises: “Our expectations were more than fulfilled. The pink design will therefore continue to characterise RUD’s lifting and lashing range for decades to come.
Detailed interview: 30 years in pink
In an interview, Hermann Kolb looks in detail at the development of the exceptional RUD industry design and explains what effect it has had on customers, owners and employees – and how it proves to be an advantage in the trade fair environment, among other things. The interview is approved for publication.
Image 1 and 2: Nowadays, all lifting and lashing equipment from RUD is pink, with very few exceptions. Hermann Kolb (right), Head of the RUD Group’s Lifting and Lashing Equipment Division, is convinced that this design will continue to characterise the RUD portfolio in the coming decades. Image source: RUD
Image 3: If the lifting and lashing equipment is exposed to temperatures above 200°C, the pink layer becomes darker depending on the temperature load. With the help of a colour chart developed by RUD, users can identify the level of heat the component has been exposed to and whether it needs to be replaced. Image source: RUD
