A VALE cabinet maker has created the ultimate talking point for world leaders attending the NATO 2014 summit in Newport next month.

Vale Business park furniture man, Paul Rathkey has been appointed to make the bespoke wooden swimming-pool size table which will fill a room at the Celtic Manor and another to join the collection.

The main table, measuring more than 25 metres in length, will sit more than 70 world leaders descending on the city.

Vale MP Alun Cairns met with Paul at his Llandow base to see the finishing touches being added to the tables before they are transported by four large lorries to Celtic Manor and then constructed prior to the opening of the summit on September 4.

Rathkeys in Llandow has a prestigious international client list.

Owner Paul Rathkey said: “It has been a very big contract for us to win, and all the team here have worked many long hours to ensure the highest quality is delivered for the NATO Summit. We are looking to forward to transporting, and then building such a huge structure at Celtic Manor in Newport. We are all very proud that a piece of originality carved in wood and made in Wales will be on display to the world in September.”

Alun said it was a genuine privilege to see the gentle craft and touch being added to the tables.

He said: “The world’s leaders will be taking notes on this table, and I am delighted to see a successful company in the Vale being awarded such a prestigious contract. Vale Business Park is home to a number of successful businesses, and knowing how many hours the team at Rathkeys have put into these tables we can be very proud that craftsmanship from the Vale of Glamorgan will play a central role at the summit.”