Shropshire company makes manhole covers for hit movie
Manhole covers manufactured by a Shropshire company will be seen by millions of people in the latest instalment of one of the biggest grossing action movie franchises of all time.
High tempo street scenes being filmed at Shepperton Studios for the new Fast and Furious 6 film, starring Vin Diesel, will feature steel manhole covers made by Fabweld Steel Products in Telford.
The movie went into production last month and is the latest in the Fast and Furious street-racing heist action movie series from Universal Studios.
Managing director of Fabweld Steel Products, Richard Hilton, said: “It is the first time we've ever had an enquiry from a film studios and they were after manhole covers for a street scene.
“We were delighted to be able to supply our high-quality solid top galvinised mild steel covers, which we've been told will be used for scenes being filmed at Shepperton Studios.”
In the sixth instalment of Universal’s Fast and Furious street-racing/heist franchise, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and the crew find themselves on the wrong side of the law once again as they try to pull off a high-octane heist on the streets of Europe – with federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) hot on their tails.
The film has been in development since last year, with pre-production beginning in April about two months before Fabweld received its Hollywood order.
Filming begun last month, with the sixth instalment the first to be centered around iconic London streets. The film's director Justin Lin was unable to obtain permission to shoot an action sequence at Piccadilly Circus involving an exploding oil tanker, and so a replica of the landmark was built at Shepperton.
Mr Hilton added: “I like a good action movie - and of course, we have a special interest in this one. I'm pretty sure I'll want to see it on the big screen. We might even have a company outing to the cinema!”
The covers supplied to the production company are 600x600mm mild steel, solid top covers with locking screws. The products are a core part of the company's portfolio, which includes the 'manholes in disguise' range of Fab Pave SOLOSLIDE™ covers, which can be infilled to match the surrounding areas.
The SOLOSIDE™ covers are in place across major city locations in the UK, including in Horseguards in London.
Mr Hilton added: “It won't be the first time our covers have been seen on screen, we spotted them during the television coverage of the Olympics outdoor venues too.”
Fast and Furious 6 is scheduled for release on May 24, 2013.
