Custom truss based rolling cake decoration platform supplied for record attempt
Here at IPS we love a bit of cake, so when we were asked by Westfield Shopping Centre to help with a world record attempt at making largest decorated cake, in which all the money raised goes to charity, we were delighted!
The event was held at the Westfield London shopping centre, and from the 28th to the 30th of November it was open to the public. It was an attempt at breaking the world record of the largest decorated cake, which was previously held by King Abdulaziz International Airport in association with Saadeddin Pastry in Saudi Arabia. 
IPS were asked to build a platform over the cake to help the 45 creators decorate it. We came up with a Prolyte H30V Truss based design, on wheeled bases that supported a structural plywood platform. The 12.5m long platform was treated with a fire retardant spray to help the structure comply with all the H&S requirements of the venue. The platforms was then gradually moved along over the cake by our team; every time they needed moving we took them off their chocks, and used the wheels. The platforms were just over 1.5m high, making it high enough to fit over the cake and the decorations (the cake sat on a platform of its own), but also low enough so that the decorators can easily reach down off the platforms to decorate.
The cake design featured a landscape scene, and the cake now holds the record and stands at a gigantic 12m by 10m, compared to the cake in Saudi Arabia which measured in at a measly 11.7m by 9.2m. However, in order to break the record, every last crumb of the cake had to be eaten. After the challenge was declared open by Amanda Holden, the cake ended up feeding about 12,000 people, and all the money raised went to the Make-A-Wish foundation in aid of ‘granting magical wishes for young people and children with life-threatening illnesses.’ The event was put together by sponsors Fairy Liquid, who aimed to wash up all 12,000 dirty cake plates with just one bottle of their washing up liquid and succeeded.
It was a great event to be a part of and we were delighted to be involved - we also enjoyed helping eat some of the cake! However bizarre your next project – why not get in touch to see if we can help make it happen. Our innovative combinations of stock equipment and custom parts can make projects a lot more feasible than other options, in terms of both cost and build time.
If you have an unusual project coming up that needs a structural solution, please get in touch - we have a large range of modular staging, truss and scaffolding based solutions available from stock. We work up full production drawings, and can produce structural reports if required, along with comprehensive health & safety documentation.
