By Francis Mukuzunga WINDHOEK Rennie’s Travel Namibia has changed its name to HRG Namibia. This follows the company’s decision to join the Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) worldwide and will be wholly owned by Rennie’s Travel (Pty) Limited. HRG was founded in 1845 and has over 60 years’ experience in corporate travel. Its global network in 96 countries has a total turnover of US$12 billion and a total workforce of 12ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000 people. In addition to HRG Namibia, Rennie’s Travel business interests in Africa are in Malawi, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Speaking at the launch of the Namibian subsidiary and of the company’s new logo in Windhoek last week, Managing Director of HRG Namibia, Heike Schulz, said the company had decided to join the HRG worldwide network because of its track record. “We have developed a strong business relationship with HRG since we joined the Business Travel International (BTI) global organization in 1999. Earlier this year, when the two shareholders in BTI decided to pursue their own strategies, we elected to join the HRG Worldwide network because we liked the HRG’s value-driven, corporate services approach,” she said. David Radcliffe, Chief Executive Officer of the HRG plc, who was also at the function, commented: “HRG is a client-focused company which delivers quality services worldwide, for both multinational corporations and smaller national companies. “Our 96-strong country network combines our global expertise with local presence and knowledge,” he added, as he formally welcomed HRG Namibia into the stable. Meanwhile, the company took advantage of the occasion to launch its new corporate brand in Namibia. Although a slight departure from its past identity, the new logo has retained the red square block, but has revitalized the central ‘R’ letter to depict the group’s energy and passion, said a company representative. The company believes the new and more contemporary logo would gear the company more towards the 21st century. The former Rennie’s Travel logo had been around since the late 1960s. The current change and touch-up were long overdue. A further significant change to Rennie’s Travel insignia is the addition of the HRG logo that would appear in all Rennie’s Travel branding in Namibia.