Shropshire manufacturer stars at Cannes

A Shropshire manufacturer has played a starring role in an important engineering project located at the heart of one of the world’s most famous film festivals.

Telford-based Fabweld Steel Products has designed and manufactured replacement access covers located at the entrance to the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès Cannes in France.

Its FAB PAVE™ access covers, which are infilled with relevant material to blend in with the surrounding surface, have been installed in Cannes’ Festival Square, which is always bustling with film stars, celebrities and paparazzi during the annual event.

FSP was commissioned by civil engineers ETS Brosio to produce the replacement access covers for its client, the Cannes Waste Water Syndicate.

The covers allow contractors to service heavy-duty valve systems that protect the area against flooding when there is heavy rain.

The brief had to meet specific design needs including working within the existing framework and allow for one-man operation as the covers are lifted daily to allow the services underneath to be emptied.

The firm also supplied further access covers for a similar project in nearby Ecole Bocca Park and has secured an additional contract to design and manufacture five similar covers for other areas of the city.

FSP managing director Richard Hilton said it had been an exciting and challenging project to work on.

“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 cover was fabricated from mild steel and hot dip galvanised to protect it from corrosion. 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.”

Richard added: “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.”