Retail display manufacturer Kesslers shifts to PPE production

• Kesslers usually designs displays for retailers and brands around the world

• The manufacturer also provided hand sanitiser for employees with the packs

A retail merchandising display manufacturer has shifted its operations to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for major retailers, the NHS, police forces and care homes across the UK after the coronavirus outbreak halted normal production.

Kesslers put together safety packs for retailers at its East London factory, which include protective guards, till dividers and Covid-19 awareness signs. Sister company Gardners in Cardiff produced floor graphics to help enforce social distancing.

The 126-year-old manufacturer also provided hand sanitiser for employees with the packs after securing 75,000 litres from an industrial supplier.

Kesslers, which designs displays for retailers and brands around the world, contacted its retail customers during the outbreak to offer support, with orders for the safety packs received from Sainsbury’s and Poundland among other high street names.

In total, the business has produced more than 20,000 individual pieces of protective equipment. Kesslers said it had secured enough material to ensure production of these items could continue for months.

Aside from supporting retailers, Kesslers is also supplying PPE equipment, including visors, gowns and masks, to eight NHS trusts, police forces including Bristol and South Wales, and a number of care homes. In total, Kesslers has supplied more than 100,000 units of PPE, with orders to supply a further 100,000 in the coming days.

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Designated as key workers, more than 100 members of the Kesslers and Gardeners staff are being used to produce the packs.

“These are unprecedented times even for a business which can trace its history back over 120 years,” said CEO Guy Stanton said.

“When it was clear that operating as usual was not an option, we contacted our retail partners to see how we could best support them. I am incredibly proud of how the teams at Gardners and Kesslers quickly came together to design, manufacture and ship out these packs.

“We have multiple orders, and we can handle even more demand. We are also proud to be supporting the frontline staff in hospitals, care homes, and in police forces across the UK by providing PPE to help them safely do their vital jobs.”

Founded in 1893, Kesslers designs and manufactures displays for brands such as L’Oréal, LVMH and Pernod Ricard. Cardiff-based Gardners makes large format visual displays for retailers including Tesco, Asda and B&Q.