Primrose-based Hawley Marble and Granite Works can boast another feather in their caps.<\/p>\n
The company, which has been in business for 60 years, designed and manufactured a beautiful monument for well-known businessman Prof Mohale Mahanyele, which was unveiled in the high profile section of the West Park Cemetery, last Saturday.<\/p>
The monument features specially quarried black granite, letters in gold, a prayer bench, a photograph embedded into the back slab\/headstone in porcelain and a bronze bust of Mahanyele.<\/p>\n
It also has an extremely unique security feature – a micro-chip has been put into the bust to prevent theft.<\/p>
Collen Hawley, the owner of Hawley Marble and Granite Works, told the GCN that theft and vandalism at cemeteries is a huge problem.<\/p>\n
“The bust has a resale value and, in order for us to continue with the project, we decided that some type of security measure needed to be put in place,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We came across a company called Memorial Alert, that specialises in micro-chips for monuments.<\/p>\n
“Now, if someone tries to steal or damage the bust, a siren will go off and a SMS will be sent to both the manufacturer and the client.”<\/p>\n
Hawley believes the micro-chips will go a long way in helping to prevent vandalism at cemeteries.<\/p>\n
“They can easily be put into normal granite monuments, as well,” he said.<\/p>\n
“From now on, we will be fitting all our big monuments with the devices.”<\/p>\n