“We recognise that climate change is the biggest threat to humanity’s future health and security, and whilst there is a significant amount of work going on to try and reduce or avoid carbon emissions,” Sandy Copeman, Director of Brand and Founder of Amalgam Collection

Sandy Copeman, Director and founder of Amalgam Collection, began his career as a professional model maker, making a tiny model town showcasing the greatest of British architecture, and later as a professional architectural model builder. With Amalgam, he began building ties with Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Pagani, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Bugatti, and McLaren, among many other key automotive manufacturers, as well as partnerships with all of the top F1 teams.

We are glad to have a conversation with him and get an insight into the sustainability leads taken by Amalgam.

AlCircle.com: What gave you the idea to launch Amalgam Collection?

Sandy Copeman: I originally co-founded Amalgam with three partners in 1985, and we focused on creating fine architectural models for leading European architectural firms, particularly Foster & Partners. We also offered product prototyping services, notably creating parts for the very first Dyson vacuum cleaners. I have always had a fascination with all things automotive and mechanical. So, after approaching the Jordan Grand Prix and Williams Formula 1 teams, I established Amalgam Collection with a focus on building fine model cars and re-establish the lost art of model making in an industry now dominated by mass-produced diecast toys.

AlCircle.com: Why build the Ferrari 250 GTO as a sculpture, and why did you decide to use aluminium for your replica?

Sandy Copeman: Since modelling Ralph Lauren’s Ferrari 250 GTO back in 2009, as each year goes by, we’ve fallen ever more in love with the perfect form and beauty of the body of this most important Ferrari icon. The structure of the 250 GTO represents more than any other the quintessence of the Ferrari brand in the collective imagination. The longer you look and the deeper you go into every detail, the more perfect the outcome of the creative work by Bizzarini, Forghieri and, probably most importantly regarding the body, the finalisation of the design by Scaglietti.

As for the use of aluminium, we are simply replicating the original material Ferrari used for the real cars all those years ago. Each body replica will be created using the traditional panel-beating methodology, forming the panels with a hammer over a buck, used by Carozzerie Scaglietti in the early 1960s.

AlCircle.com: Aluminium being a sustainable metal, what kind of awareness are you creating while promoting your brand?

Sandy Copeman:  By using the original aluminium material used for the real car bodies, we are promoting the authenticity of our replicas and of our brand.

AlCircle.com: What are the limitations you are facing with using aluminium, and how do you overcome such challenges?

Sandy Copeman: We are faced with all the usual limitations associated with panel beating and use the exact same methodologies to overcome them.

AlCircle.com: What urged you to join hands with ‘Greenr’? How much will the’ Carbon-offset initiative’ help your company?

Sandy Copeman: We recognise that climate change is the biggest threat to humanity’s future health and security, and whilst there is a significant amount of work going on to try and reduce or avoid carbon emissions, for now, the valid answer for most individuals is to minimise their carbon footprint is to avoid carbon-intensive activity and offset their emissions. Working with Greenr connects our customers with tried, trusted and certified offsetting projects, both locally and from around the world. We know carbon offsetting isn’t the answer to climate change, but it is a small contribution whilst we continue to make major changes in our business processes.

AlCircle.com: What steps have you taken to create awareness about sustainability and recyclability?

Sandy Copeman: We are implementing changes at the moment to use recyclable and returnable packaging made from wood, paper and other natural materials, which in all honesty, is as much driven by aesthetic considerations as moral ones, but in fact, aesthetics and moral considerations work naturally alongside each other and are a perfect fit. I think the growing desire in society and culture to change our ways and not buy, sell, or make stuff that swiftly ends up in a hole in the ground within a few years, months or even minutes, is one that we have always believed in, and that has shaped the Amalgam brand from the start. We have always believed in the maxim ‘buy less and buy better’. Our models will last and give pleasure for many decades, even centuries, if properly taken care of.