Drivers passing the interchange where Red Mountain Expressway meets Interstate 59/20 are seeing something new overhead: six towering silos wrapped to look like giant Pepsi cans, rising 45 feet from base to top along one of Birmingham’s busiest corridors.
The installation is the work of Buffalo Rock Company and Southern Armature Works, according to Bham Now, which reports the project was seven years in the making. The six silos sit on Southern Armature’s property at 2720 Seventh Ave. N, where the company relocated in 2019, on a site that dates back to 1935, per the outlet’s reporting.
From Plastic Pellets to Pepsi Cans
Before they became a branding canvas, the silos stored pellets used in plastic packaging production, according to the same report. Once that use ended, Terry and Charles Rumore began considering new purposes for the structures. The silos resembled giant beverage cans, and Pepsi came to mind, per Bham Now’s account.
Southern Armature Works, a family-owned Birmingham business founded in 1931 by Ross Joseph Rumore, according to Southern Armature Works, partnered with Buffalo Rock to bring the idea to life. Crews used specialized rappelling equipment to reach the six silos, then primed each one before installing specially made vinyl wraps featuring Pepsi blue, white lettering and the globe logo, Bham Now reported.
A Corridor Built for Visibility
Motorists can see the silos from both Red Mountain Expressway and I-59/20, according to Bham Now’s reporting. The six silos provided a canvas for Pepsi branding along a heavily traveled Birmingham corridor, the outlet’s report states. The sign celebrates the company’s local roots and its Pepsi partnership, per the same account…