Steel staircases, railings and structural steel galvanized by East Anglian Galvanizing Ltd were supplied for the construction of IKEA's new furniture store in Edmonton, near London, which became the centre of national media attention when thousands of bargain-hunters stampeded towards the entrance during the official opening event and caused the Swedish-owned emporium to be temporarily closed.

East Anglian Galvanizing, based at Warely Road, Peterborough and part of the UK-wide Wedge Group, were contracted to galvanize almost 60 tonnes of steel over the past year by one of its long-term customers, steel fabrication specialists H. Young Structures Ltd, of Wymondham, Norfolk.

East Anglian Galvanizing Ltd's Commercial Manager, Selwyn Parrish, said galvanizing the steel for the new Edmonton facility had been ongoing over the past 9 months and represented the type of work which the company has successfully carried out in partnership with H. Young Structures Ltd for many years: 'It was quite unusual for us to switch on the TV and see the BBC journalist reporting about this incident in the news and standing on our staircase at the IKEA building!'

Between 5,000 and 6,000 people attended the opening of the new IKEA store at midnight on February 10th-11th and a number were slightly injured during the turmoil, which was also widely reported in the national press. No damage was caused to the new building during the incident and IKEA reopened the store for trading the following day.

Advanced galvanizing facilities at East Anglian Galvanizing Ltd include an 8m x 1.2m x 2.4m galvanizing bath, plus a spin galvanizing facility (3.66m x 0.62m x 1.37m) for components up to 500mm in length. Other specialist services include blast cleaning, passivation and painting. All facilities meet the very latest European and UK environment protection regulations.