Lyreco, a France-based global B2B business products reseller, is launching online vending machines in France for safety gloves, goggles and other items in the personal protective equipment, or PPE, category.

Lyreco introduced the vending machines earlier this month at the Preventica trade show that took place in Lille, France.

Vending machines are nothing new in the industries supplies category—they are widely used by large resellers such as W. W. Grainger Inc. and Fastenal Co.– but the move by Lyreco underlines its commitment to the PPE category. It has taken on a number of category specialists over the past year and its latest PPE catalogue features 25% more SKUs than the 2015 edition.

The PPE vending machines are being targeted at factories, workshops and warehouses and they will be stocked with fast-moving items such as safety gloves, protective goggles, etc. They are connected online to Lyreco’s IT platform, allowing for automatic replenishment.

Andy Braithwaite is editor-at-large of Office Products International, where this article first appeared before it was slightly edited to appear in B2BecNews. The original version can be viewed at OPI.net.