Albion Sections Supply for Nike World Cup ‘Ballman’
West Bromwich, United Kingdom, September 12, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Custom cold roll forming manufacturer Albion Sections based in West Bromwich has supplied C-section for leading sportswear brand Nike in World Cup project dubbed ‘Ballman’ in the Carlton Shopping Centre in Johannesburg. Leicester based Ratcliffe Fowler Design developed the Ballman sculpture in conjunction with Nike Global Brand Design Team on behalf of Nike South Africa.
The sculpture, which comprised of 5500 Brazilian Skill footballs were suspended upon over 10km of steel cable giving the illusion of a football player floating in the air. Roughly based upon Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo, the sculpture weighs 4.75 tons and towers in at over 20 metres high.
The wires were hung from a 12 x 12m steel frame consisting of Albion C-section. Albion Sections in-house technical team produced the general arrangement with markings and assembly drawings for the steel frame.
An aluminium grid in-filled with flat panels and clad with moulded polystyrene concealed all Steel metalwork and rigging. 537 holes were drilled into the moulded polystyrene where the steel wire descend, giving the appearance of a solid ceiling.
To ensure the sculpture could be constructed with ease in South Africa, Ratcliffe Fowler set up a series of tests in Rotherham power station in the UK before being transported to South Africa. There they tested the structure against accidental impacts and other eventualities that might result in problems.
Albion’s technical Manager, Tom Hughes, commented “It has been a pleasure to work on this project which has been both an engineering and creative achievement/accomplishment. The project has certainly met its brief to create something impactful that would bring Nike’s vision of inspiration and innovation to life.”
The sculpture attracted over 500,000 visitors up until the end of the tournament, after which the Brazilian Skill balls were donated to football programs across South Africa.
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Notes to editor
Albion Sections Ltd is a custom cold roll-forming manufacturer based in West Bromwich offering a comprehensive range of light secondary steel construction components. Established in 1992, Albion has expanded and diversified to now support numerous steel construction markets including; portal frames, steel framing and modular construction both for off-site and on-site assembly.
Albion Sections became a part of the Sebden Steel Group in 2002 - one of the largest independent producers of strip products in the UK. Sebden Steel has provided Albion Sections with further prospects, continuing its growth and forward momentum. In 2005, Albion Sections invested in one of the most dynamic roll forming lines available in the world. The additional Bradbury roll former has facilitated Albion Sections to streamline production flow, reduce lead times, increase product range, and improve quality and accuracy.
In January 2009, Albion Sections launched production facilities in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The Lisburn facility can produce the full range of z-purlins, c-sections, eaves beams and sigma purlin as offered at West Bromwich. Albion Sections' West Bromwich production lines have a 14000t per year capacity with the Ireland production line having 8000t capacity per year.
www.albionsections.co.uk
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/albion-sections-ltd
Ratcliffe Fowler Design an independent UK design agency, which was set up in 1994 by Mike Ratcliffe and Jim Fowler. Jim and Mike are both passionate about quality creative design and this ideal runs through the business and you can see this in the portfolio and client base.
Mike and his team specialise in 3D design and creating and installing their work around the world. Jim leads his team in developing first class literature, retail graphics and art direction. The Ratcliffe Fowler Design team is a very relaxed friendly bunch which means that they can get serious about design.
http://www.ratcliffefowlerdesign.co.uk/
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/ratcliffe-fowler-design
The sculpture, which comprised of 5500 Brazilian Skill footballs were suspended upon over 10km of steel cable giving the illusion of a football player floating in the air. Roughly based upon Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo, the sculpture weighs 4.75 tons and towers in at over 20 metres high.
The wires were hung from a 12 x 12m steel frame consisting of Albion C-section. Albion Sections in-house technical team produced the general arrangement with markings and assembly drawings for the steel frame.
An aluminium grid in-filled with flat panels and clad with moulded polystyrene concealed all Steel metalwork and rigging. 537 holes were drilled into the moulded polystyrene where the steel wire descend, giving the appearance of a solid ceiling.
To ensure the sculpture could be constructed with ease in South Africa, Ratcliffe Fowler set up a series of tests in Rotherham power station in the UK before being transported to South Africa. There they tested the structure against accidental impacts and other eventualities that might result in problems.
Albion’s technical Manager, Tom Hughes, commented “It has been a pleasure to work on this project which has been both an engineering and creative achievement/accomplishment. The project has certainly met its brief to create something impactful that would bring Nike’s vision of inspiration and innovation to life.”
The sculpture attracted over 500,000 visitors up until the end of the tournament, after which the Brazilian Skill balls were donated to football programs across South Africa.
###
Notes to editor
Albion Sections Ltd is a custom cold roll-forming manufacturer based in West Bromwich offering a comprehensive range of light secondary steel construction components. Established in 1992, Albion has expanded and diversified to now support numerous steel construction markets including; portal frames, steel framing and modular construction both for off-site and on-site assembly.
Albion Sections became a part of the Sebden Steel Group in 2002 - one of the largest independent producers of strip products in the UK. Sebden Steel has provided Albion Sections with further prospects, continuing its growth and forward momentum. In 2005, Albion Sections invested in one of the most dynamic roll forming lines available in the world. The additional Bradbury roll former has facilitated Albion Sections to streamline production flow, reduce lead times, increase product range, and improve quality and accuracy.
In January 2009, Albion Sections launched production facilities in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The Lisburn facility can produce the full range of z-purlins, c-sections, eaves beams and sigma purlin as offered at West Bromwich. Albion Sections' West Bromwich production lines have a 14000t per year capacity with the Ireland production line having 8000t capacity per year.
www.albionsections.co.uk
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/albion-sections-ltd
Ratcliffe Fowler Design an independent UK design agency, which was set up in 1994 by Mike Ratcliffe and Jim Fowler. Jim and Mike are both passionate about quality creative design and this ideal runs through the business and you can see this in the portfolio and client base.
Mike and his team specialise in 3D design and creating and installing their work around the world. Jim leads his team in developing first class literature, retail graphics and art direction. The Ratcliffe Fowler Design team is a very relaxed friendly bunch which means that they can get serious about design.
http://www.ratcliffefowlerdesign.co.uk/
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/ratcliffe-fowler-design
Contact
Albion Sections Ltd
Katherine South
0121 553 1877
www.albionsections.co.uk/
Katherine South
0121 553 1877
www.albionsections.co.uk/
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