Ferco in the box seat for stadium contracts as safe standing nears

This summer, Atcham-based Ferco seating completed the installation of 3,000 new rail seats at Celtic Park, the 60,000-capacity home of Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic.

Since then, English football clubs have, for the first time, opened discussions about whether a similar system of "safe standing" would be accepted in the Premier League.

"At Celtic, they have been pushing for this for five or six years," said Ferco managing director Michael Burnett. "We have been supporting them for about five years, and the Football Supporters Federation in England.

"This is a trial for them really, it's a way to get their Ultras (the most vocal fans) into an area that is safe for them and everybody else."

The issue is an emotive one in England because of the legacy of the Hillsborough disaster, and Liverpool have always refrained from entering discussions because of the sensitivity of that issue. In 1989, 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives in a crush at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield.

Designs have changed significantly, thanks in part to the work of the Shropshire company, meaning that rather than having hundreds of fans putting pressure on each barrier, each fan is allocated a standing position, with no additional pressure behind them.

This system of safe-standing could, Mr Burnett says, potentially bring change this year.

"I think the football clubs could probably by the end of this football season have said they believe it is the right way to go," he added.

"It's then got to move into the political arena and that is much harder for people like me to judge. But my belief is that there doesn't have to be a change in the law."

Ferco completed a merger deal with its Japanese distributor Kotobuki Seating towards the end of 2016, improving its ability to win contracts in that country and giving it access to some key production techniques pioneered by the boundary-pushing Asian nation.

It is a coincidence that the next Olympic Games will take place in Tokyo, Mr Burnett said, although given that the company landed the contract to fit out the Maracana in Brazil, the home of the 2016 games, it would not be surprising to see the Shropshire company find itself working on seats for the 2020 event.

It would add another big-name stadium to Ferco's roster, which already includes the likes of Arsenal FC's Emirates Stadium, and the royal box at Twickenham, the home of English rugby.

The company employs 10 people from its headquarters at Atcham, and manufactures in China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

More immediately, however, it is working with cinema chain Odeon on a fit-out of a number of its theatres, including fitting new seats to its Telford site.

Odeon was recently taken over by the world's biggest cinema chain, Chinese company Dalian Wanda, and that is leading to investment across its estate.

Cinemas are continually trying to find ways to bring out punters, in the face of an ever-improving world of home entertainment, and bring in the a large part of their money through food and drink.

Ferco has been brought in to add comfy seats with tables in front to tempt movie-lovers out of their houses and into screens.

Mr Burnett said: "We worked on the Telford job and have done others in Bournemouth and Kingston. This is a new direction for cinemas, and when the leaders lead, the rest follow."