Telford College has taken delivery of 155 new chairs in the latest stage of its campus upgrade.
They have been supplied by local company Chrisbeon, based at Stafford Park, which has been providing furniture to the college for around 30 years.
Around £1.5 million is being spent on improving facilities around the Telford College campus this year, using local suppliers wherever possible.
Dave Candlin, the college’s director of estates, said: “We’re very proud of our university-standard facilities, but are always striving to improve. This summer alone, we have invested around £250,000 on upgrades and renovations.
“We have a long and happy partnership with the team at Chrisbeon, who always provide a terrific service and know exactly what sort of products to recommend to meet our needs.”
Chrisbeon has previously provided furniture for the college’s Haybridge restaurant, Rendezvous, Orange Tree, Willow Tree Centre, plus the construction and discovery centres.
Richard Hughes, from the company, said: “We’re grateful to Telford College for the business it has given to us over the years – hopefully it’s a relationship which will continue for many more years to come.
“We are also both patron members of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, which means we are keen to encourage local businesses to ‘buy local’ and support each other – and this is a perfect example.
“We have also employed apprentices over the years who have been trained by Telford College, so our company has worked closely with the college on many different levels.”
Chrisbeon supplies furniture which is suitable for heavy use in classroom or common room settings to a large number of schools, colleges and universities across the region.
The 155 chairs Titan four-leg chairs delivered to Telford College come with a 10-year warranty.
Richard said: “We recommend these as they are built to last – less expensive chairs have to be replaced more often as they are not such good quality.”
Telford College was given a ‘Good’ rating by education watchdog Ofsted earlier this year, just weeks after its financial health was officially upgraded to ‘Outstanding’.
Ofsted praised the college for adapting the curriculum to meet changing skills needs, and for helping students to boost confidence and self-belief in a safe and stimulating learning environment.