Galvanising service blooms in the playground

Parkes Galvanizing has helped bring a touch of Spring to a school playground in Acton, London.

Parkes Galvanizing has helped bring a touch of Spring to a school playground in Acton, London.

A giant steel sunflower, which has a diameter of approximately 5ft, was galvanized by the Stratford-based company to protect it against the elements before it was installed at the Southfield Primary School, to help mark the school's centenary.

The sunflower forms part of a two-storey ornamental tower and the school's anniversary was being marked with an Open Day in September and an official visit by the Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn, MP.

The sculptor who created the sunflower, Adam Laurence, based in Bethnal Green, whose company is called One Little Girl And A Can Of Gasoline, has produced a wide range of steel artworks, ornamental railings, gates, seating and other structures for municipal buildings and commercial premises.

"I have been using galvanizing to protect my work for a long time now and I am quite well-known at Parkes Galvanizing.

The sunflower was made using a lot of tubing sections and galvanizing was the only way of getting right into all the intricate sections," explained Adam.

Parkes Galvanizing is due to move its full-service galvanizing operation to a new location before mid-2007.

The present site on Marshgate Lane will be redeveloped to create facilities for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

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