It was 40 years ago that the world of fireworks saw the birth of an upstart new company, Fantastic Fireworks. Given that 50 per cent of all new businesses fail within the first 5 years, it is a remarkable achievement that the company not only survived that perilous period but the 35 that followed. Today, at the forefront of the fireworks industry, Fantastic Fireworks can now lay claim to being the UK’s longest-established premier cru fireworks company. No other company has been in single founder ownership for as long.
In May the company celebrated its 40th anniversary with a party at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, where the founder and managing director Jon Culverhouse paid tribute to the many clients and employees who have played such an important part in the company’s success.
One long-standing client, Colin Bryan, the former managing director of Drayton Manor theme park, recalled how, back in 1990, his father, who was then the owner, told him he was mad to be spending £5,000 on their first ever fireworks display.
‘When 10,000 people showed up to watch, he had to eat humble pie,’ Colin said with a smile. ‘We used Fantastic Fireworks every year from then on.’
Fireworks played a big part in Jon’s young life when family bonfire parties sparked his interest. With the help of the school chemistry lab, he started making fireworks, with impressive results, especially the explosions that rocked his back garden
All thoughts of fireworks had to be put to one side when he embarked on a career in journalism. A job on the Daily Mail sports desk took up most of his time, until a chance occurrence changed everything.
‘It was 1983 and I spotted some Chinese fireworks in a shop window,’ recalled Jon. ‘Back then British-made fireworks by Standard, Brocks and Astra dominated the market. I was so intrigued that I wrote an article for the Mail news desk. When it appeared on November 5th of that year, the importer was so pleased with the publicity that he sent me the biggest box of fireworks I’d ever seen. They filled my garage!
‘My New Year’s Eve party really went with a bang. People were blown away by it!
‘You should do this for a living,’ they told me.
‘So I thought I’d give it a go.’
A year later Fantastic Fireworks was born.
‘I didn’t know anyone in the industry and very little about the world of professional fireworks but here we were, new kids on the block, blowing our trumpet.’
With orders rolling in, Jon left the Daily Mail soon afterwards. It wasn’t long before he got his first big break. In 1986 Torbay Tourist Board decided to celebrate the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson with a fireworks display, and Jon got the job.
‘Help! I thought. I can’t do this on my own. So I hired in some experts in the industry and it all went off beautifully.’
Business literally boomed in the following years, soon reaching, in Jon’s mind, the unimaginable sales figure of a million pounds. Along the way the company chalked up some notable successes, winning the inaugural British Fireworks Championship in 1997, and again in 2015. It has travelled the world with its displays, going as far afield as the Maldives, Mexico, the USA and even Russia.
Its biggest display came in 2008 when the City of Liverpool celebrated its 800th anniversary with a £250,000 display on the banks of the Mersey.
‘It has been a fantastic journey,’ said Jon, ‘but I couldn’t have achieved it without the dedication, commitment and professionalism of the amazing staff it has been my pleasure and honour to work with, and all the hundreds of clients who put their faith in Fantastic Fireworks. Thank you, each and every one.’
Author: Sam Hyland
Sam is the assistant content manager for Event Industry News (EIN). Sam is involved in publishing news stories, videos and podcasts. Sam also collates the latest stories for the EIN e-newsletter. If you have a press release or story you think we might be interested to know about please email features@eventindustrynews.com
