Product category:
Heating Systems, Controls and Management
News Release from: Gripple | Subject: Swirl Cone project
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 21 July 2008
Gripples secure gateway to
Carmarthenshire
Colin Rose, creator of the Swirl Cone, identified that Gripples were the best means of securing the structure.
More than 400 Gripple wire joiners, more usually seen suspending mechanical and electrical systems or tensioning wire fencing, have been put to a very different use in a new landmark sculpture in Wales, where a local farmer first mooted their invention It was Colin Rose, creator of the Swirl Cone, otherwise known as the Gateway to Carmarthenshire, who identified that Gripples, manufactured by Sheffield-based Gripple Limited, were the best means of securing the structure
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 24 Dec 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Funded by the Welsh Assembly and erected on a roundabout on the main access route into the county, the 12 metre high stainless steel cone comprises a 16 metre diameter base plate, top cone, a central column supported by a lattice of 400 stainless steel cables, the ends of which were attached to the Gripples.
Their integral tensioning and locking mechanism then allowed the cables to be tensioned equally, using a Gripple Torq Tensioning Tool, and then secured to the ground.
Colin Rose said: "Because of the structure's wide base and high apex, in the interests of safety and to prevent tampering, it was vital to tension and lock the cables on the ground".
"I researched all available cable fixings and the Gripples was the best solution".
"Made of zinc alloy, they work well with stainless steel, are self-contained, have a long life and were easy to install".
"The people at Gripple were very helpful, advising me how best to use the products".
The Gateway to Carmarthenshire was the idea of Carmarthen County Council and local residents as a means of marking the arrival into the county.
The commission, which was managed by Wales' main art consultants, Cardiff-based SAFLE, was designed to reflect the area's precision engineering industry and the shipping history of the nearby estuary, and will be unveiled later this year.
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