Positioning TRB as a Global Leader in Engineering and Manufacturing Lightweight Components

We love learning about new industries and markets, especially those with a global impact. That’s why we jumped at the opportunity to work with one of our longtime clients, Sandra McQueen, at her new company TRB Lightweight Structures. TRB, based out of Cambridgeshire, England — the birthplace of the textile industry — produces lightweight panels and structures for industries trying to reduce mass (think carbon fiber chassis for Formula One race cars).

TRB had an identity challenge. It had a great reputation for decades of precision engineering and design of parts and components for rail, automotive and aerospace industries. But its image, both online and offline, was outdated. TRB’s website and marketing collateral did not effectively convey to clients and prospects the depth of their innovation. At the same time, there was a growing market of companies that were aggressively pursuing fuel reduction by incorporating carbon fiber materials in place of heavier steel.Seeing an opportunity, Silicon Valley investors acquired the company.

Outdated TRB corporate website with previous logo and color scheme.

1stWave spent several months collaborating to help re-envision how TRB positioned and organized their services and products. These conceptual working sessions were followed by extensive information architecture, starting with the homepage and key landing pages. 1stWave created a new website framework and content to tell the TRB story. TRB is much more than a manufacturer of lightweight components. TRB works with companies to solve complex engineering problems by providing technical expertise and design. TRB can then quickly ramp up production to accommodate one or hundreds of components.

Extensive consulting to refine the structure and messaging of their product offerings and services led to a complete top-to-bottom redesign of the TRB website, with robust content pages describing their Capabilities, Project Track Record and Materials.

As part of the engagement, 1stWave also modernized the TRB brand with a new logo, color scheme and re-usable visual elements. The previous logo mark suffered from legibility issues, making it hard to recognize or discern the name.

1stWave also produced interior wall display banners for TRB headquarters, a multi-fold ten-page brochure, sell sheets, and email campaign templates.

In the end we were happy with the design and the client was thrilled to have a more impactful marketing site to attract prospects. The project showed us the importance of collaboration in the early stage to refine and perfect the website messaging before diving into the look and feel design process.