STAGE One has been creating a buzz with its latest project. Business editor Laura Knowlson finds out how the Tockwith-based creative construction and manufacturing company is once again shining under a global spotlight.

THE eyes of the world watched in awe as one of Stage One's most famous masterpieces came to life at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The company, based on the outskirts of York, had been contracted to create the Olympic Couldron, which was designed by Thomas Heatherwick. It featured burning stems, representing each of the competing nations, which pivoted sequentially to form the Cauldron, in which the Olympic and Paralympic flame burnt during the games.

The company had infact been involved in the Olympic Games ceremonies since Athens in 2004, as well as working within film and television, and other international sporting events.

It has constructed the set for the Sports Personality of the Year Awards for the last three years as well as the Eurovision Song Contest and MTV Music Awards, and built the stage and set for the spectacular Tour de France team presentation in Leeds Arena.

But if the mechanisms of the 204 unique copper elements created for the Olympic Couldron was considered a feat of engineering, Stage One's latest project has seen its expertise taken to whole new level.

The company will this week see its latest creation revealed to the public as the Milan Expo 2015 opens on Friday.

After entering a competition last year, Stage One won the £6 million contract to create the UK Pavilion at this year's World Expo.

Designed by Nottingham-based artist Wolfgang Buttress, the structure was inspired by the role of a honeybee to tie in with the Expo's theme of Feeding the planet: Energy for life.

Surrounded by a fruit orchard, and a natural wildflower meadow, the UK Pavilion's focal point takes the form of a giant global orb, made of a metallic lattice based on the design of a honeycomb.

Made from aluminium, the structure, called The Hive, is made up of 169,300 different components - all manufactured at Stage One's facility in Tockwith.

As construction got underway in October last year, Stage One's team worked between 16 and 24 hour days to create the individual elements, with the entire drawing and construction phase for the components taking 4,500 hours in total.

After the elements were shipped on truck to Milan, ground work then began on site in Italy in November last year, with The Hive starting to rise from the ground from December.

Tim Leigh, sales and marketing director at Queen's Award winning Stage One, said: "The whole project has been to a really compressed time frame.

"The key challenges were not just managing the number of components but a compressed time scale based on a busy Expo site.

"There are 149 other pavilions being created, which brings a whole different set challenges in terms of getting people on and off a small site, with our total area measuring only 100m by 20m."

The 52-tonne Hive, which is 14m cubed, features 1,000 LED lights which are connected electronically to a real bee hive in Nottingham.

Mr Leigh explained: "When the real beehive is busy and the bees are about to swarm, we measure their activity and that is transmitted into a signal, sent down the wire and the LEDs in the hive respond. The lights go mad when there's lots of activity in the hive. It's fantastic.

"The whole Expo site is fascinating. Unfortunately there are some Pavilions that aren't finished. It's testament to our work and the people we have worked with that this has been delivered on time for the opening.

"We cannot wait to hear what the visitor experience is coming from the ground. We are delighted and pleased to be involved in such a high profile project."

The Milan Expo runs until October 31, and features 145 participating nations.