Workwear firm Alexandra’s response to the coronavirus crisis has earned it the chance to win a major national award while it has also been shortlisted in five categories of a regional awards scheme.
The Thornbury-based firm, which has been designing and manufacturing garments since 1854, has produced clear face coverings to help deaf and hard-of-hearing people communicate during the pandemic. 
The firm was approached by clients in the healthcare and education sectors to come up with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to help people struggling to lip-read or follow facial expressions with standard face masks.
That response has earned it a shortlisting in the healthcare and pharma category of the prestigious Supply Chain Excellence Awards – one of 15 categories in the awards, which take place virtually on November 12.
Separately, the quality of Alexandra’s customer service and its relationships with suppliers has also been recognised with shortlisting in five categories at the South West Contact Centre Awards, which take place virtually on November 20.
Since the start of the pandemic, Alexandra – which usually makes workwear items ranging from chefs’ whites to overalls and branded polo shirts – has switched to take account of the crisis, with more than 90% of its manufacturing capacity in its UK and international factories switched to producing scrubs for the NHS. 
The company has also marshalled and expanded its extensive supply chain network to source millions of pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as masks, nitrile gloves and aprons to support frontline NHS and care workers.
Global sales and commercial director Rebecca Jones said: “It is so pleasing to see our hard-working and dedicated staff being recognised for the way they have taken on the challenge the pandemic has presented us with.
“From developing clear face coverings for the deaf to sizing 12,500 medical students using Zoom calls and video guides, the way our entire workforce has adapted and innovated in the past six months has been incredible.”
In the South West Contact Centre Awards, which are staged by industry group the South West Contact Centre Forum, Josie Ford and Libby Spriggs are finalists for Customer Services Representative of the Year, Philippa Jones is up for Supervisor of the Year, Marlene Fowler is shortlisted for Hero of the Year and the firm’s customer operations team are in contention for Support Team of the Year.
Alexandra head of customer operations Sarah Shanks said: “Being shortlisted for so many awards is a testament to the exceptional work of the customer service team here at Alexandra.
“Throughout these testing times, the team have worked incredibly hard to ensure that the level of service we provide has never dropped below the high standards we set. Being in the running for these awards is recognition for their efforts and fully deserved.”
