Telford manufacturer says Yes We Cannes
Stars expect to tread the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival – but from this year they will also be unwittingly be striding across products made by a Shropshire manufacturer.
A steel fabrication factory in Madeley would seem a long way from glittering high heels crafted in the boutiques of Los Angeles.
But thanks to a contract won by Fabweld Steel Products to provide products for the pavements outside Cannes' most famous cinema the products of Shropshire and California will meet on the French Riviera next month.
Don't expect to be hearing the company's name in the run-down of the fashion triumphs and disasters, though – it has instead provided drain access covers at the entrance to the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès Cannes.
FSP managing director Richard Hilton said: “When the film festival comes around this year, we’ll be keeping a close eye in the media to see which celebrities are stepping on a piece of Shropshire manufacturing.”
He added: “The Cannes Film Festival is one of the biggest cultural events in the world and, outside of that, the Palais is the second busiest business tourism destinations in France so it was imperative that we created an attractive and workable solution that met the customer’s brief."
The company makes drain covers which are in-filled with material to match the surrounding surface, and the latest contract saw them installed in Festival Square in the famous city in the south of France.
The square is often bustling with tourists, but during the annual festival film stars, celebrity and paparazzi are regularly found out and about int he square.
FSP was commissioned by civil engineers ETS Brosio to produce the replacement access covers for its client, the Cannes Waste Water Syndicate.
Cannes is not the first high profile location to feature Fabweld's Fab Pave access covers. They have also been used in the redesign of the ancient Elefetheria Square in Nicosia, Cyprus, and Terminal 2A – known as the Queen’s Terminal – at Heathrow airport.
The covers allow contractors to service heavy-duty valve systems that protect the area against flooding when there is heavy rain.
“The cover was fabricated from mild steel and hot dip galvanised to protect it from corrosion," Mr Hilton added.
"It was supplied with structural support steelwork to ensure it can accept heavy vehicular traffic and the design ensured that, when the covers are hinged back, the support steelwork can be removed to give clear access for any maintenance with machinery.”
