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Border States Announces New Logo, One Name

FARGO, N.D. — Border States, a company with 70 years of history, is looking to the future with one clear name and a new logo and visual identity. In a live, companywide broadcast, David White, CEO, and Jason Seger, President, of Border States unveiled a new logo and clarified the company’s name while speaking to an audience of more than 250 Border States leaders at their Fusion Leadership Conference.

“We use at least three names when we refer to ourselves: Border States, Border States Electric and BSE — we need to move forward with one name,” said David White. “We know Border States Electric doesn’t fit us anymore — we are much more than that. And BSE is simply a shortened version of Border States Electric. In the end, we are Border States.”

White went on to say that because the current logo, the BSE “brick,” is a shortened version of Border States Electric, it needed to evolve. This isn’t the first name and logo change the company has seen. Border States Electric was founded in 1952 when two entrepreneurs, Buff Thompson and Jim Stolee, set out to serve the electric utility industry. This company was initially the Thompson Stolee Company. By 1962, they recognized that they had evolved and changed, and they needed a different name. Border States Electric Supply Company was born. Through many acquisitions and new locations, the company expanded, diversified, and continued to thrive and grow. In 1988, the BSE “brick” logo was introduced.

Jason Seger, who joined the company in 1999 as an intern, said, “With 23 years of service to the company, I do have an emotional tie to the BSE brick. It has served us well for over 30 years, and it holds a special place in the company’s history. We have grown and evolved, and this is part of our continued transformation. As we transition to a new logo, we will honor the remarkable history of the company and the logo that represented it while looking ahead to the bright future that we are creating together.”

The new logo was unveiled to the company in a short video, which showed the transformation of the current logo into a compass shape, signifying their growing nationwide presence, and used the phrase, “Border States. For the Unstoppable.”

“Our customers’ work does not stop; it cannot stop — too many people are counting on them, and we know unstoppable businesses should not go it alone,” said White. “The word ‘unstoppable’ best describes the people and the industries we work with each day. Always on, always ready, to keep the world going.”

Seger added, “We are there for them because, again, we treat their business as our own. We know their work does not stop, so we cannot rest until we deliver beyond their expectation. What has made us great is our ability to deliver, and if we miss the mark, we own it, fix it and are there to tackle the next challenge. We do not stop until it is right.”

White noted that the transition to the new visual identity would take over a year; however, people would start to see the new brand identity this summer. To learn more about Border States’ brand, visit this page, and view the logo transformation video here.