Leading sculptor to craft memorial

Cumbernauld-based steel galvanising specialist Highland Colour Coaters will put the finishing touch to a memorial to Scotland’s steelmen. As disclosed in the News and Chronicle earlier this year the firm has volunteered to do the same for a statue to honour the memory of the thousands of men who died working in Scotland’s iron and steel industry.

The firm was also responsible for the protective coat on the town’s iconic Arria statue.

Fundraising efforts have been ongoing throughout the year, but in a decisive breakthrough this month a bumper £20,000 contribution from the union Community has allowed the organisers to go ahead and commission noted sculptor Andy Scott, who wasresponsible for both Arria and the Kelpies horses’ heads in Falkirk, for the work.

The finished statue will be at Ravenscraig, site of the county’s once flagship industrial site.

Even with the pivotal contribution from the union the Highland Colour Coating contribution will make a major difference to costs and ensure the statue remains an enduring reminder of the steelmen who died in the course of their dangerous jobs.

The campaign to fund a statue was launched in the teeth of recession, in one of the hardest-hit areas, but has been remarkably successful.

North Lanarkshire Council, other local authorities and other businesses have helped with cash funding or assistance in kind.

The statue - expertly coated by the Cumbernauld specialists - will be unveiled in front of the regional sports facility at Ravenscraig in spring.