Published at 11:27, Tuesday, 04 December 2012

ONE of Northumberland’s star attractions has been given a little extra sparkle from an Ulverston firm.

LIGHT FANTASTIC: The Sparkle light show at the Alnwick Garden, Alnwick, Northumberland

Marl International carried out the Sparkle project at the Alnwick Garden, at Alnwick Castle, based in Northumberland.

The firm has installed LED lighting in the garden to draw visitors’ attention to central features.

The project was the brainchild of the Duchess of Northumberland.

She said: “Phase one of Sparkle has transformed dark evenings into a stunning spectacle of light and colour.

“The Alnwick Garden was designed 17 years ago with lighting in mind.

“When I saw the original drawings I immediately recognised the huge opportunity for a dynamic lighting programme.

“This is the first phase of a permanent, flexible installation which will bring the garden to life in the evenings and during the winter months.”

The project came following a visit to Marl’s Ulverston base in July and the Duchess was left with a lasting impression of the company.

She added: “Following my visit to Marl in July, I could see that they were an exceptional company.

“Not every engineering company has a collection of six grand pianos on site!

“I was impressed by their capability, expertise and approach.

“The enthusiasm, energy and creativity of its young team was inspiring, and the fact that they are located together on a single site convinced me that they would work together effectively to realise this very complicated project.”

Adrian Rawlinson, managing director of Marl International, said: “The Duchess of Northumberland visited Marl Business Park in Ulverston in July, and offered us the chance to demonstrate our capability to provide a fully controlled lighting system. Marl can design and manufacture new LED lighting products entirely in-house.

“Marl has the benefit of over 100 committed, clever and resourceful team players to draw on to get on with the delivery of the project – and it is fair to say that everyone was totally committed to this project from day one. We were extremely excited to be offered this unique brief to design a dynamic, powerful light scheme, for this exceptional situation.”

To create the effects for the Duchess, Marl designed and manufactured five new products, including 6m RGB flexible strips specifically to maximise performance in this type of large scale outdoor lighting application.

The installation includes more than 90 individual light fittings, hardware cabinets, mains and DMX cabling and IT communications systems and ongoing support for the team at The Alnwick Garden will be provided.

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk