Start appointed by Bolton valve specialist Orseal to develop its brand

Start, a B2B marketing and communications consultancy in Manchester, has been hired by Bolton-based valve engineering specialist Orseal to support the next stage of its brand and marketing development.

Orseal combines two areas of expertise. Specialist Valve Projects is its established technical and engineering arm, handling complex valve requirements, engineered packages and full valve solutions. Orseal StockZone provides industrial distribution and stock solutions.

It operates across industrial oil and gas, energy, marine and aeronautics.

The appointment comes as Orseal looks to build on over 60 years of experience and an engineering heritage that goes back to the 1800s. Although it is best known for specialist valves, the business does much more, and it now wants a brand that reflects what it is today, puts its wider offer in focus and supports its growth plans.

Start will lead the brand development work, with Start partner Louise Poole helping to evolve Orseal's core visual identity. The goal is a contemporary brand that draws on the company's engineering history, shows the range of its expertise and gives a stronger base for future marketing, sales and digital work.

The win follows Start's recent tenth anniversary. The consultancy is based in Campfield, Manchester.

Rachel Chesters, managing director of Start, said: “Orseal is exactly the kind of North West business we love working with. There is an enormous amount of expertise, experience and credibility within the company, and a real ambition to grow.

“Orseal has a fantastic heritage and a highly skilled, specialist workforce. Our job is to create a brand that is both contemporary and ambitious.”

She said the brand needed to reflect the technical credibility Orseal had built up over generations and explain the full range of solutions available to customers. “The brand is the starting point, but there are lots of opportunities to build on that as Orseal develops its wider marketing and digital presence,” she added.

Jason Wignall, head of strategic development at Orseal, said: “We have a huge amount of knowledge and capability within Orseal and an exciting opportunity to build on these foundations. As we look towards the next stage of the company’s development, we want our brand and marketing to better reflect the expertise, service and solutions we provide to our customers.

“We spent over six months looking for the right strategic partner to support our marketing and growth ambitions. Ultimately, we found Start through a recommendation from a previous client of theirs, which ticked a critical box for us – good relationships are what Orseal is based on. Start understood very quickly what we are trying to achieve and, importantly, the need to evolve the business without losing what makes Orseal distinctive.”