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In 2025, Avon Protection signed a new contract with its long-running customer, UK Police, to provide servicing and support for the Force’s FM53 multi-role Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) System. The framework contract, which runs through to 2029, will deliver consistent flow of product, improved stock management, and enhanced FM53 RPE system availability for UK Police in a purpose-built package designed to maximise cost-efficiency. The contract marks an early success for Avon Protection’s newly relaunched AVONPLUS service, and introduces a new approach to solving availability challenges for customers who operate “pool stock” style respirator inventory processes.

UK Police

UK Police first deployed the FM53 across its forces across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2017. Since then, thousands of units have been delivered by Avon Protection to UK Police, where the system provides protection against threats including chemical and biological warfare agents and toxic industrial materials (TIMs).

UK Police initially managed its inventory of FM53 respirators under a “pool stock” model. Typical of users managing large stock volumes in organisations where a single mask may be issued to multiple personnel over the course of its service life, pool stock inventory processes have significant maintenance, servicing and repair support requirements to ensure that every time a respirator is re-issued to a new staff member, it is clean, in good working order, and is fit for purpose.

AVONPLUS services

Prior to 2025, Avon Protection’s aftercare services for customers managing their stock under this style of process operated on an ‘as needed’ basis. Managed maintenance was carried out at the company’s U.S. facilities, meaning respirators had to be sea-freighted to and from the U.S. for servicing and maintenance.

As part of the company’s pivot to Continuous Improvement (CI) business methodology, AVONPLUS services were identified as an area in which significant value could be added to the experience as an Avon Protection customer, particularly for those customers who carry large stock inventories and manage large staff numbers with higher staff turnover/redeployment rates.

In designing the AVONPLUS service offering, key goals identified to deliver an improved customer experience included:

Increased respirator availability
Improved customer stock management processes
Maximised respirator service life
Enhanced value for Avon Protection partners

A new service line was designed to achieve these goals and established on the factory floor at the company’s Melksham facility.

The new service centre

Setting up the new line in the service centre required investment in new equipment to clean, check, repair and test FM53 respirators alongside their already installed ST53 SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus).

In line with the process agreed with the customer, each respirator moves through the line in the service centre in the following order:

The mask is assessed, dismantled and components separated
The mask is cleaned, sanitised and dried in new custom-built industrial washer and drier machines
All respirator components are inspected and damaged components are repaired
Pre-agreed brand-new components are installed into the mask
The mask is reassembled
The mask undergoes a leak test. This test is the same test each new mask undergoes when it rolls off the assembly line. It ensures that all components have been installed correctly and that the mask meets the standards to which it has been built.
The mask is repackaged, sealed and labelled to indicate that it has been serviced to Avon Protection’s ‘as refurbished’ standard and is safe to redeploy to a new user.

The service cell at Melksham is designed to be fully scalable to meet customer demand within existing resource. At peak, the cell can conduct large volumes of respirator managed maintenance each month.

Customer experience

The new AVONPLUS service is delivering increased availability of respirators, simplified stock management processes, and customer assurance that each FM53 mask purchased will remain in optimal condition for the duration of its service life, no matter how many times it is redeployed to new users. In achieving these aims, the overarching customer experience is a significantly increased value proposition in the purchase of Avon Protection respirators.

‘We approached Avon with a concept as the original equipment manufacturer, confident that they were best placed to provide an end-to-end solution utilising OEM parts and technical expertise. Whilst this was initially provided by the US division, the necessity to develop a UK based capability quickly became evident as the costs and environmental impact of shipping equipment were not sustainable, let alone the turnaround time. The clear benefits of this UK based service centre are that we have access to a world class capability with surge capacity in extremis and through our continued collaborative work across the wider Avon family we influence research and development for future operationally fit-for-purpose respiratory protection solutions.’

Scott Howard, Inspector, Head of Capabilities and Special Projects, UK Police

Avon Protection takeaway
Reflecting on the launch of Avon Protection’s AVONPLUS service, Natasha Goddard-Wellon, VP Commercial & Strategy, Avon Protection, said: “Through the introduction of new processes such as the relaunched AVONPLUS service, we are offering an enhanced service to our long running and valued customer, UK Police, while also delivering improved returns for Avon Protection stakeholders. As this contract with UK Police progresses through to 2029, we will further improve processes to ensure maximum output for the customer.

“We look forward to rolling our new AVONPLUS service to new customers who will benefit from these improved processes.”