Erdölchemie GmbH, commonly abbreviated as EC, was a German petrochemical company based at Cologne-Worringen on the Rhine. Founded in 1957 as a 50-50 joint venture between Bayer and Deutsche BP, it operated one of Europe’s largest petrochemical plants until its renaming in 2001.[1][2]
Design and History
The company’s visual identity centered on the “EC” monogram, which served as its logo and was widely used on company materials, including tokens issued by the firm.[3] The mark was a word-and-letter design combining the “EC” abbreviation with the full company name, as recorded in a 1984 U.S. trademark filing for “EC ERDOLCHEMIE.”[4]
In October 2001, following BP’s acquisition of Bayer’s 50 percent stake earlier that year, the company was renamed BP Köln GmbH. The renaming was described as the “consistent step” to visibly document the integration process into the BP group.[5] The company adopted the yellow-green Helios signet of the BP group under its new name.[5]
Notably, the old EC signet remained visible on the plant’s three smokestacks after the renaming, as removing the masonry logos would have required too much effort.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The “EC” abbreviation stood for Erdölchemie, with the German word “Erdölchemie” translating to “mineral oil chemistry” in English.[4] The monogram directly referenced the company’s core business of petrochemical production, a sector it entered upon its founding in 1957.[2]
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