A leading ticketing company that can boast Wembley Stadium as its first-ever client, is celebrating its 40th birthday this year.

TOR Systems has undergone many changes since its inception in 1981, but the core values of service and people have remained central to the success of the ticketing solutions business.

Daniel Jordan, TOR’s managing director, said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating our 40th anniversary as the UK’s leading ticketing solution supplier. We built our company on honesty, loyalty and customer service and that ethos continues to this day.”

The Stoke-on-Trent-based company started life as an operator rather than a supplier and created a system that met its own requirements, which in turn provided a solution for the wider industry.

It was set up by Jordan’s parents John and Grace after they moved to Stoke from London, where John had worked as a filmmaker in the 1970s.

John set up Stoke Film Theatre – which is still based at Staffordshire University today – and on the opening night of the arthouse cinema, he realised that ticket receipts were taking far too long to print.

He needed a solution and together with a team of technical experts, he devised the fastest ticket printer in the world, which boasted its first client as Wembley Stadium in 1982.

Many top-flight football clubs including Liverpool and Everton followed suit and when top UK attraction Alton Towers also came on board in 1984, TOR’s reputation as a leading ticketing solutions provider was firmly established.

The biggest change during the 40 years has been the increase in advance bookings, and TOR continues to work on new technology to assist customers and reduce their need for manual or timely processes.

Current customers include top UK attractions such as the British Museum and the Imperial War Museums, with which TOR has upheld a consistent professional relationship for two decades.

TOR’s mission statement is to improve the visitor experience at visitor attractions, with positive customer engagement through effective ticketing, retail, membership, booking and CRM systems.

These systems create excellent platforms to build solid operational processes and procedures, yielding positive commercial results for its clients.

Jordan added: “I’m delighted to have happy, loyal customers that want to stay with us, and that also applies to our loyal team members.

“I’m very proud of the ethos of the company which has been built on over the years – Dad would be very happy with the company and the product and services it offers.”

The TOR team has already enjoyed a privately chartered canal boat trip as part of their 40th birthday celebrations and plans for a Christmas party are also taking shape.

TOR Systems through the decades

1981-1991• The company was formed by John and Grace Jordan.

• Fastest ticket printer in the world went to market – first client Wembley stadium in 1982.• First ticketing installed – Alton Towers in 1984.

• ‘Speed Box System’ moved onto Microsoft’s DOS platform in 1988.

1991 – 2010• Daniel Jordan joined TOR – 1993.

• Natural History Museum client won – live within 4 weeks.• British Museum client won – 1999.

• John Jordan retires – Daniel Jordan becomes managing director – 2005.• MaximWeb online ticketing platform went to market – 2007.

2011– 2020

• Fidelity Systems stock management partner – went live 2015.• MaximWeb ‘responsive’ platform to the marketplace – 2016.

• Developed a series of portals for trade, group, and members – 2017.• Maxim ‘Cloud’ solution to the marketplace to replace Windows Maxim – 2018.

• Cloud Hosting partner Millenia brought on board – 2019.

2021• New customer BeWILDerwood Cheshire opens for the first time in the middle of the pandemic.

• New online platform due to the marketplace.