Rand Merchant Bank reaches new heights for Mandela Day
SANDTON - To mark Mandela Day, staff of Rand Merchant Bank set a new Guinness World Record for the largest pyramid of canned food.
The towering pyramid, consisting of 31 395 cans, was built by staff after their application was accepted by Guinness World Records. A strict process was adhered to, with two independent auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers monitoring the construction, video footage from beginning to end and a professional photographer.
“The construction of the food can pyramid, and the subsequent distribution of the food to selected charities, is true to the bank’s philosophy of ‘traditional values, innovative ideas’ with us addressing a need for food in an innovative way. Employees donated almost 9 000 cans and over R125 000 which was used to buy the remaining food cans for the pyramid structure,” said chief executive Alan Pullinger.
The pyramid, built outside the company’s offices in Fredman Drive, Sandton, had a base of 45 x 45 cans, a height of almost five metres and weighed about 12.5 tons. Guidelines provided by Guinness World Records required the pyramid to have a square base finishing with one can on top. All cans had to be free-standing and of the same shape and size.
Following the dismantling of the pyramid, the cans were distributed to pre-determined charities.
The previous record for the world’s highest canned food pyramid was also set in Sandton, less than a year before. In September 2012 Nedbank’s pyramid consisted of 19 019 cans with 38 layers and a weight of eight tons, which smashed the previous record of 17 575 cans set in the United States.
