As the title say's, I use ARCO but will always consider elsewhere if the quality and price is right.

2 reasons, professional curiosity. Is there many other suppliers out there that I might be missing? Plus I always like to keep our suppliers honest, so if I know of other businesses that can offer quotes I can always compare them.

I always recommend to my customers to buy from ARCO, for quality and meeting requirements. I don't recommend others normally unless I have had examples of kit in my hands, checked spec, labels etc. This is because I have seen some rubbish PPE in my time. My customers will surf the net for cheaper alternatives, sometimes with disastrous results. Latest example was FFP3 dust masks which they need for very brief periods each day when cutting paving slabs. I said 'make sure they have red straps so I can see from a distance they are wearing the correct masks'. The ones they got from manufacturer U (let's call them 'U') were actually folded flat in a bag - they were NEVER going to face-fit even for one use, no seal could be achieved, they were like a baby wipe with straps. Customer did find very inexpensive FFP3 dust masks from supplier 'W', good face fit, good seal which should last for many weeks if cared for, but I must check them each weekly audit to be sure. JohnW

James, There are any number of suppliers -including all the "named" companies in the ARCO catalogue.

I think it depends upon what type of PPE you are purchasing. Selection of the right PPE can be relatively simple or seriously complex. In my work the main PPE tends to be chemical protective gloves. All too often I find that a new client is using inappropriate gloves or possibly the correct gloves inappropriately. Their glove system is frequently based on inadequate (or simply incorrect) advice from the supplier. I recently had a client who had requested site surveys from three major manufacturers. None of the recommendations, if accepted, would actually have provided adequate protection for their employees. In fact, in this particular case we had to do 'in use' testing to establish the real life of the gloves for several different tasks, something that had not even been suggested by their potential suppliers. Chris