A group in Pella has left their mark on a NASCAR track that just hosted the first playoff race.
Medalist in Pella, in partnership with Eternal Fan and Timeless Innovations, created the “Eternal Fan Piston,” produced locally. Medalist Manager Dale Van Arendonk tells KNIA/KRLS News a local team produced the 22 foot tall structure that contains over nine tons of stainless steel.
“It’s very different for us, because almost every we do is for industrial applications, so the public generally isn’t involved in or aware of what we do,” he says. “Here’s a case where there will be a lot of people seeing it.”
Assembly Worker Ken Veenstra was among the group that assembled the piston sculpture, and says it was rewarding to see everything come together.
“It was exciting and there was a sense of pride when we had it all done, to see the finished product, because it was a lot of long hours polishing and grinding, and getting everything to blend,” Veenstra says.
The piston is on display at Richmond Raceway as a permanent structure, meant for fans to enjoy when they visit the track long-term. Ken Bettger with Timeless Innovations says the journey for the structure was made more difficult by Hurricane Florence, but the local team worked together to get the display installed at the track ahead of this past Sunday’s race.
Hear more about the project on today’s Let’s Talk Pella.