William Say & Co Ltd unveils new hand-painted wall mural

William Say & Co Ltd unveils new painted wall mural in the hand tooling workshop of its London factory 

Above: new mural at William Say painted by Cockney Green unveiled at Bermondsey factory  

William Say & Co Ltd, the London can maker, recently commissioned a painted mural from local artists, Cockney Green, on the wall of its hand tooling workshop at its Bermondsey factory to celebrate the company’s heritage and innovation.  

The mural takes inspiration from the company’s founder, William Say and also depicts a retro Polaroid denoting the company’s online profile; a Union Jack hot air balloon to symbolise British manufacturing; as well as the Metal Recycles Forever packaging logo.  

A meticulously detailed Spitfire plane is also featured in the mural in recognition of World War II veteran and long-standing colleague, Colin Bell DFC, who flew the aircraft during the war.  Colin first supported William Say in the eighties assisting with the company’s business tax administration and has been a close member of the team ever since.  

Cockney Green artists, Alan Davies and Kathryn Mcguiness, who spent ten days hand painting the mural, commented: “Bringing this mural to life was a fantastic experience for us. Initially we create several sketches, drawings and renders before we move to the hand painting stage.  

“The physical space always inspires our drawings and the William Say factory really sparked our imagination with its noteworthy frontage and remarkable machinery.  A key element was the spitfire included in the painting, we wanted to ensure that its markings reflected the plane flown by Colin.”  

William Say rejuvenated its collection of hand-powered can making tools, dating from the early 1900s, to create the new visitor workshop which opened earlier this year. These tools allow operators to build a can from scratch with machinery that adds a flange for seaming; adding a pre-curl; or a bead to a slip lid tin for example.   

The tools have also been modified with enhanced safety features allowing less experienced personnel to create a usable prototype while learning about the can manufacturing process.   

Stuart Wilkinson, Sales and Marketing Director at William Say and its sister packaging stockist, P. Wilkinson Containers, commented, “We’re thrilled to be able to welcome visitors to our new hand-crafted area, which is so reminiscent of our founder, William Say’s original 1930s workshop under the Crooked Billet Pub near Tower Bridge.  

“This is an area for customers, old and new, as well as students to develop a practical understanding of how cans are made. The final mural really brings this space to life and I’m looking forward to welcoming visitors to have a go at building their own personalised cans.”