Melbourne outfit Signwave Campbellfield has wrapped a 2015 Ford Falcon to honour production line staff at Ford’s closing Broadmeadows plant.
The Ford Falcon art car, wrapped by Signwave Campbellfield
The Ford Falcon Art Car was revealed as a signature art installation at the car maker’s ‘Outside the Oval’ art and design fundraising exhibition, with proceeds from sales going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The wrapped Falcon features photographs of 384 factory staff who put together Ford’s Falcon and Territory cars at the Broadmeadows plant, marked to close in 2016. The employees built their last Ford Falcon GT in October and will roll the last Falcon ute and sedan off the production line in two years’ time. Senior Ford clay modeller Peter Watson spent four months planning the project, photographing the staff and creating the graphics. He says, “I wanted to show the faces behind the Falcon and I thought it would be a fitting celebration piece to all the personnel who literally bolt the car together on the production line.
Centrepiece: Ford Falcon art car, in honour of factory workers
“We thought it would be great to document in a visual form the employees across the company and also show our commitment to JDRF.” Watson measured each car panel and made paper templates to ensure the imagery fitted the car accurately. Signwave Campbellfield printed samples to check the colours, then made vinyl printouts for the installation. Paul Jones, owner of the Campbellfield franchise store, says the job involved meticulous planning. He tells AP, “It took us a day and a half of installation. It was important that the final product do justice to every worker who volunteered to be part of the project which meant ensuring no image was distorted or cut off.” Linda Sultmann, general manager of Signwave Australia and part of the team who bought the master license for the Australian company from its US parent last year, says the job is a ‘great example’ of the franchise’s consultative approach. She says, “Paul Jones and his team went the extra mile to ensure everything went to plan according to Peter Watson’s vision. “We commend Ford Australia for its innovative way of using graphics to showcase its cars, honour its employees and foster the culture within its own organisation.” Ford plans to exhibit the Falcon Art car at other events in the coming months. This year’s exhibition included more than 30 works created by the company’s design team, with sculpture, 2D paintings and digital art made from a range of materials including ceramic, foam, acrylic on canvas and clay. The exhibit also included the first public unveiling of the 2014 Falcon XR8 sedan. Last year’s event raised more than $25,000 for juvenile diabetes research.
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