The Maguire Iron Podcast: 38:Fresh Produce
April 20, 2023
Chad Edwards and Rich Kemmis – South Dakota
April 26, 2023
Sioux Falls-based Maguire Iron, a water tank and tower construction and maintenance company is modifying its name with an eye toward the future.
The company now will be known simply as Maguire, part of a broader rebrand that also includes a revised logo.
“The new name and logo are an exciting progression in the history of our company, as we continue to strive for excellence,” said Gene Jones, Jr., Maguire CEO. “The timing of this announcement is in advance of us opening a new state-of-the-art campus and fabrication facility in Sioux Falls, SD in 2024.”
The company continues to be focused on creating value by delivering excellent service, exceptional quality, and industry-leading innovation in the construction and maintenance of water tanks and towers.
By dropping the “iron,” the goal is to simplify the name and position the company for future strategic growth, its leaders said.
“We have a strong, people-centric culture focused on human flourishing and have added more talent to our outstanding team in support of these strategic initiatives,” said Scott Jones, Maguire president. “Our company will continue to be family-owned and operated. There has been no change in leadership or team members and our customers can continue to count on us to deliver the same values of excellence, safety, integrity, passion, and family that we have since 1915.”
Building a Brand
When Maguire Iron began considering the idea of rebranding the company, it was important for the new name and logo design to honor the history of the company while also positioning the company for the future.
“There is a long and storied history behind the name Maguire Iron,” Gene Jones, Jr. said. “The original owner, Ed Maguire secured the name in 1915.”
In 1958, Gene Jones, Sr. purchased Maguire Iron. At the time, the name was Maguire Iron Preserving Company Incorporated. Jones, Sr. decided to keep the name, because it was identified with the maintenance of water towers within the region.
Then, in the 1970s, he shortened the name to Maguire Iron. This was to reflect the growth the company was experiencing.
“The driving force behind the name and the logo change, at that time, was that the company was evolving, just like we are today,” Jones, Jr. said. “As the company grew from one crew, Dad decided to shorten the name, so it was easier for customers to remember.”
The one thing that Gene Sr. made sure to keep when he shortened the name and added a logo was the iconic turquoise color, affectionately referred to as Maguire green.
“Dad always bought Dodge pickups and they had a turquoise color,’ Scott Jones said. “He loved that color. Mom loved that color. They had a lot of fun with it.”
The turquoise color helped set Maguire Iron apart from other companies in the water tower industry and is still important to the company today.
Unveiling a New Look
Discussions about a new brand for Maguire Iron began in 2022. The company was going through a strategic planning process and was in the development stage for a new state-of-the-art campus and fabrication facility that is currently under construction in northeast Sioux Falls.
“We felt with all of the amazing things going on in the company and all of the positive momentum, it might be time to look at rebranding the company,” Scott Jones said.
As the company did in the 1960s and 70s when their father was transforming the company,” we are going through that same environment where there is a lot of amazing change and opportunities,” Gene Jones, Jr., added. “Because of the opportunities, we felt there was no better time to look at a rebrand than the timeline we are in right now.”
To help add structure and expertise, Maguire Iron partnered with Sioux Falls advertising agency Fresh Produce, which led the company through a branding process known as “Broadstrokes”.
“With Maguire, the deliverable for us was a new visual identity”, Fresh Produce owner, Ted Herren said. “We used the Broadstrokes process to help us articulate the values that would then inspire the new visual identity.”
Fresh Produce conducted interviews with Maguire employees, customers, and industry experts along with market research to inform and guide the brand process. Making sure everyone’s opinions were heard was important, especially to the third generation of future Maguire owners.
“Fresh Produce did a great job throughout the process of taking input, especially from our team members,” said Parker Jones, a third-generation member of the family business and Maguire product development specialist.
“It was important to gather as much information as possible and use that to have great discussions about the past, present, and future of Maguire as we worked toward the new name and logo.”
The vision was to develop a logo that differentiated Maguire, Herren said.
“You can’t tell the whole story in a logo, but there are ways to reflect the industry and what the company does, without saying too much about it. At the same time, we wanted to do more than that. We wanted to express values and new ideas.”
When it came time to pick a new brand, Fresh Produce presented three designs – and for the Maguire team, one stood out above the rest.
“It was an easy decision as to which logo was the choice for us,” Scott Jones said. “The logo we chose is the perfect representation of our company, the people we work with, and the industry we are in.”
“To take this brand to the next level, our desire as second-generation owners of Maguire is to have it be a legacy company and pass it on to the third generation,” Gene Jones Jr. said. “With our current leadership, we have positioned ourselves to have success in a great industry working with great customers.”
To learn more about the Maguire rebrand process, click below to listen to episodes 37 and 38 of The Maguire Podcast.
