Cobalt Conveyors helps with Liverpool's giant puppet show

Engineers from Burscough-based Cobalt Conveyors helped animate a 9ft tall dog as part of the giant puppet spectacular that drew more than one million people onto the streets of Liverpool.

Giant dog Xolo tried to hitch a lift on a police car... He was soon told to get down. #giantspectacular #giantsliverpool @GiantSpectacle pic.twitter.com/Bdjd9DA3a2

— Rob Smith (@robsmithitv) 7 October 2018

Xolo, a giant puppet, played a role the finale of Liverpool’s Dream, a four-day extravaganza presented by French marionette street theatre company, Royal de Luxe.

It was the third and final visit to the city by the France-based giants, and was designed to mark the tenth anniversary of Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture year in 2008.

Royal de Luxe artistic director Jean Luc Courcoult presented an all-new show staged in Liverpool and Wirral featuring for the first time the adventures of a little boy giant as well as a number of favourites from previous visits like the ever-popular Xolo.

Cobalt was asked to manufacture and supply a bespoke belt conveyor to enable the canine star to run along the Strand on the last day of the visit, when the giants bade a fond farewell to their Merseyside friends for the final time.

Simon Turner, Cobalt managing director, said: “Although we have been asked to supply conveyors for the TV and film industry on many previous occasions, this was certainly the most unusual - and exciting - request we’ve ever handled.

“We were delighted to work with Event Design and Royal de Luxe on the project, and to be part of this superb event.

“It was a privilege to see how this talented company bring their massive puppets to life, and how they create personalities that have brought a huge amount of pleasure to hundreds of thousands of Merseysiders on three separate occasions." Cobalt Conveyors was established in Southport in 2007 before moving to Burscough in 2012. The company provides turnkey systems for manufacturers across sectors including packaging, warehousing, clothing, food processing, cosmetics, automotive and engineering.

Our final farewell to our favouritegianrs! What a day liverpool! The end to a fantastic few days for @GiantSpectacle thanks @TheGuideLpool for capturing this #liverpoolgiants pic.twitter.com/i15RuPaaEv

— Culture Liverpool (@CultureLPool) 7 October 2018