Company Moves to Pick Up the Slack

WILMINGTON, Del. — The Du Pont Co. is closing the gap in its name--as in DuPont--as part of an overhaul of its corporate identity.

The logo, the company name encircled by an oval, will keep the space, and will stay the same. But business cards, brochures and advertisements will be all be changed to delete the space.

The new spelling is already reflected in this year’s annual report and proxy statement.

Is the change necessary? The company thinks so, based on research that didn’t even begin to deal with its real name--E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.

“The changes are more evolutionary than revolutionary,” said Jamie M. Murray II, director of corporate identity and events. “We’ve been around for 200 years and we’ve never had standards to ensure a continuity of our identity.”