The eagle has landed at a popular tourist spot in Germany – thanks to help from South West Galvanizers Ltd.
More than 450,000 people flock to the picture book town of Triberg, in the heart of the Black Forest, every year.
And they’re now being greeted by a fabulous sculpture of an eagle, which points the way to a new birds of prey zoo nearby.
The unique work was created by sculptors Gary and Thomas Thrussell, a father and son artists team, who called on old friends at South West Galvanizers to ensure their creation, which has a wing span of 2.5 metres, will stand the test of time.
Gary, who’s based in Cornwall, even made a 1,800-mile round trip to the town, which is in the south west region of Baden-Wurttemberg, to deliver the piece.
He said: “A new bird of prey zoo featuring all types of eagles has been opened over there and I was commissioned by the owner to create unique artwork for it.
“My son Thomas and I worked on it throughout the summer and as it will stand in the open air, on the edge of the town, we needed to have it galvanized.
“I’ve worked with South West Galvanizers many times before so there was only ever one place I was going to take it.
“It was really important to get the finish right and they did a cracking job – the piece looks fantastic. We took it down to Germany ourselves in the van and everyone there was delighted, including the Burgermeister.”
Gary was so pleased that he’s planning to submit the piece for annual awards run by the Galvanizers Association, and Tony Wonnacott, General Manager at South West Galvanizers, is backing him all the way.
He said: “We’ve galvanized several pieces for Gary in the past, but this one was absolutely stunning and featured fantastic workmanship.
“The eagle and its base were particularly intricate, so we put them through the process with great care and it came out really well.”
By Wedge Group Galvanizing Ltd