AbitibiBowater announces name change

AbitibiBowater announced that it will change the company name to Resolute Forest Products.

“We are changing our name to Resolute Forest Products to better reflect the fundamental characteristics of the company we are today, including our determination, strength and resolve to be a profitable, sustainable organization,” stated Richard Garneau, president and chief executive officer. “With our competitive cost structure, diversified revenue base and strong balance sheet, we are well-positioned for the long term.”

The company identity change follows an initiative, launched in April 2011, in which employees were invited to suggest a new name for the company. An internal selection committee and the executive team chose Resolute Forest Products from among approximately 1,400 employee submissions.

On November 7, 2011, the company will begin using Resolute Forest Products and related visual identity on its marketing materials, website, signage and other communications. When communicating in French, the company will use the name Produits forestiers Résolu. Prior to the November launch, the company continued to be referred to as AbitibiBowater.

While the company will be doing business as Resolute Forest Products as of November 7, AbitibiBowater Inc. and its subsidiaries will not change their legal entity names until the company obtains shareholder approval as required by law. The company will seek formal shareholder approval at its 2012 annual general meeting.

For customers, suppliers and other stakeholders with whom the company interacts, little will change beyond how the company will refer to itself and its products. The company will operate “business as usual” with respect to invoicing, payments, contracts, company stocks and stock market listings. AbitibiBowater will work to ensure the transition to the new identity is as smooth and seamless as possible for all its stakeholders.

The Resolute Forest Products logo calls to mind the forest in which the company works, the paper and lumber products it manufactures, and the modern and dynamic nature of the organization. Paper products are reflected in the half-circle of the “R”, symbolizing a paper roll, as well as in the folds within the logo. The rectangular and triangular shapes, in the legs of the “R”, represent wood products and forestry. Through the use of green as a primary color, the design also depicts the company’s determination to be a profitable business, committed to sustainability.

AbitibiBowater owns or operates 18 pulp and paper mills and 24 wood products facilities located in the United States, Canada and South Korea.