More than 2,000 forecourts across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Australia, have signed up to Devon-based GripHero’s offer of free hand-protection dispensers on the fuel

pump in the past month as forecourts globally try to protect the public and staff against the avoidable transmission of Covid-19.

In addition to big fuel retail names across four continents, reputable independent forecourt groups in the UK have been ordering GripHero to ensure they offer best-practice protection to their customers’ safety.

Nick Fraser, director of Fraser’s Retail Ltd’s group of multi-award-winning forecourts, said: “Efficiency and high standards are at the heart of everything we do within our business. In deciding to use GripHero as our hand-protection solution, we want to be protecting our customers in the most efficient way possible, while minimising our impact on the planet and eliminating waste.”

Michael Gatty, from Hills of Corby Hill group, which has installed GripHero across its group of 13 sites, commented: “At Hills, we’re very proud to be doing the best we possibly can for our customers’ safety. By rolling-out GripHero on all fuel nozzles across our group, we will be standardising protection for all drivers visiting our sites at the exact point of fuel delivery.”

The award-winning patented hand-protection dispenser, designed by inventor and managing director of GripHero Oli Yeo, claims to be the only dispenser in the world permitted to sit on fuel pump handles. The use of ATEX-Certified anti-static hand-protection material, removes all chance of ignition caused by static, enabling the dispensers to be fitted in the refueling zone. When the UK Government announced nationwide restrictions as a result of Covid-19, Yeo decided that offering dispensers free-of-charge until the end of April was the right thing to do.

He said that by ensuring hand-protection is available at the precise point where it is needed - on the fuel pump handle - GripHero helps to ensure that motorists refuelling their vehicles do not come into contact with plastic and metal surfaces where Covid-19 could easily be passed from one driver to another.

In addition to cutting waste - by dispensing just one item of hand-protection at a time - and preventing transmission of Covid-19 from driver to driver via the fuel pump handle, installing GripHero on each and every fuel pump handle ends the common occurrence of hand-protection shortages.

Independent research commissioned by GripHero, shows that over 80% of drivers regularly fill up without using hand-protection because they can’t find gloves, or because standard dispensers are empty.* Fitting GripHero hand-protection at every refuelling bay, and in particular on each fuel pump nozzle, helps put a stop to this problem.

Since the global spread of Covid-19 has focused the minds of both drivers and operators into protection and safety at the pumps, GripHero has seen exceptionally high demand, resulting in the business doubling production and capacity.

“There has been a clear realisation that customer health and wellbeing is the number one priority, especially as forecourts are high touchpoint locations where Covid-19 can too easily be passed from driver to driver via the fuel pump handle," stressed Yeo.

“The simple truth is that drivers don’t wash their hands before picking up a fuel pump and very few do so having filled up. Often, this is because forecourts don’t have washrooms. In other cases, drivers are in too much of a hurry to think about properly washing their hands having refuelled.

“Wearing hand-protection prevents this as an issue, and that’s where GripHero delivers. From the feedback we’re getting, it’s clear that both drivers and forecourts are benefiting as motorists are thankful that their health and wellbeing is being prioritised, and so they are returning to fill up and purchase items in-store.”

GripHero’s  dispensers are designed  to dispense one item of hand-protection at a time, preventing clumps of gloves being taken, increasing capacity, preventing unnecessary waste and putting an end to hand-protection shortages. It also stops clumps of gloves being stuffed back into traditional dispensers on bins and pillars, which could lead to the transmission of Covid-19 when the next driver withdraws a glove touched by previous motorists.

Forecourts installing GripHero’s dispensers will need to use GripHero’s ATEX-Certified anti-static hand-protection.