London-based Kesslers which designs, creates and delivers award-winning displays for retailers and brands across the globe has converted its operations to produce vitally needed personal protective equipment (PPE) for major retailers, the NHS, police forces and care homes across the UK.

Since the start of the crisis, Kesslers’ facilities in Stratford, East London has been producing a pack for retailers to be rolled out to their stores including protective guards, till dividers and COVID-awareness signage. Designed to protect staff, the packs also contain hand sanitiser for employees after the Group secured 75,000 litres from an industrial supplier. Kesslers is working closely with its sister company, Gardners in Cardiff, which is producing floor graphics to help enforce social distancing.

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Kesslers, who are headline sponsors of the 2020 Creative Retail Awards, were able to deploy their decades of experience to shift to manufacturing the new products.  At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, Kesslers’ management contacted its retail partners to offer their support and received orders for the packs from Sainsbury’s and Poundland among others. In total, Kesslers has produced over 20,000 individual pieces of protective equipment working with installation partners nationwide. Kesslers has secured enough material to ensure that the production of these items can continue for months.

Aside from supporting retailers, Kesslers is also supplying vital 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 over 100,000 units of PPE with orders to supply a further 100,000 in the coming days.

Designated as key workers, over 100 members of the Kessler and Gardeners staff are being used to produce the packs, with the remainder of the staff either working from home or have been furloughed. Management is ensuring that Government guidelines on social distancing are always being followed to protect employees.

Both Kesslers and Gardners are part of Hexcite Group, a world-leading provider of bespoke immersive experiences for brands and retailers. Founded in 1893, Kesslers’ designs and manufactures outstanding display solutions for many of the world’s most prominent brands, including L’Oréal, LVMH, and Pernod Ricard. While Cardiff-based Gardners is one of Europe’s leading designers and manufacturers of large format visual displays for retailers, including Tesco, Asda and B&Q. Owned by private equity fund, Elaghmore, Hexcite Group employs more than 300 people, an annual turnover of over £60 million and a global customer base of more than 100 retailers and brands.

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