Excellence in Galvanizing
Edward Howell Galvanizers has teamed up with a renowned blacksmith to create a celebratory sculpture for a primary school in the West Midlands.
The Wednesfield-based plant has partnered with long-standing client, Luke Perry of Industrial Heritage Stronghold, to provide its specialist hot-dip galvanizing treatment to a 20 metre by four metre tree sculpture installed at Timbertree Academy in Cradley Heath.
The project saw the plant called upon to galvanize the main body of the sculpture, which weighs approximately 1.5 tonnes and was produced from steel welded together to replicate the likeness of aged tree bark. The tree was commissioned to celebrate the school’s new academy status with the branches containing hundreds of stainless steel leaves inscribed with the names of every pupil and member of staff, as well as steel figures including a hedgehog, fox, bat, butterfly, mouse, bee, owl and crow.
Luke Perry said: “It was fantastic to be commissioned by the Timbertree Academy to produce the tree sculpture, and I was really fortunate to have a lot of creative freedom when creating the artwork. Galvanizing was an obvious finish, not only to protect and strengthen the steelwork, but to ensure it didn’t rust as the sculpture has been installed in close proximity to a lightly coloured wall. I have worked with Edward Howell for over seven years and knew the plant would be able to accommodate the irregularities of the work and finish the steel to a high standard.”
Jim Lindsay, Sales Manager at Edward Howell, said: “We were delighted to support Luke once again with this fantastic project which will provide a great commemorative piece for the pupils at the school for years to come. Luke is a renowned blacksmith in the Black Country and he always produces eye-catching creations, and this one is no exception.”
By Wedge Group Galvanizing Ltd