R3 Safety LLC, has announced the addition of Jamie Knowles and Steve Bowman to its inside sales team. The two new positions are within the R3 Inside Sales Team, sales professionals that work on already existing accounts, with specialization in skills that are targeted to customers' existing needs and issues.

Jamie Knowles has been with R3 Safety for nine years, and has experience in customer service, account management and buying. He has also received training in QSSP. Prior to joining R3 Safety, he sold products and services in a variety of industries.

Steve Bowman has been employed with R3 Safety for almost five years before accepting this position; he was selected due to his experience in customer service and sales.

"Our new inside sales team will help our customers better understand the solutions that, together, we can provide for their customers," said R3 Safety General Manager Jim Walker. "Jamie and Steve's knowledge of safety products and our customers' markets, coupled with their passion for providing exceptional service, will promote opportunities for our customers' expansion and growth."

Bowman and Knowles will work out of the Fairfield Ohio office.

About R3Safety: R3 Safety is the leading redistributor of safety equipment in the United States and Canada, serving the construction, industrial, manufacturing.

Firms Partner Together to Drive Strong Sales Growth Despite Economic Conditions

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - January 13, 2010 - CriticalTool, a leading online specialty distributor of industrial safety equipment, today announced that Wilmington, Ohio-based R3 Safety has been awarded its Supplier of the Year award for 2009.

"We are proud to honor our partnership with R3 Safety with our Supplier of the Year award," said Rathi Niyogi with CriticalTool. "They delivered a customized solution that accommodates our unique business needs and drive cost savings and revenue for both firms."

"We are very proud to receive this recognition and it clearly demonstrates the success created when customers and suppliers collaborate at all levels of customer service, sales and delivery," said Jim Walker, General Manager of North America for R3 Safety.

CriticalTool's business model has evolved from a traditional, locally focused distributor to a technology driven online seller, directly driving cost savings and better economies of scale for its customers. By using automation to process small orders, customers no longer have to buy large quantities of items to get them at affordable pricing.

"The partnership with CriticalTool demonstrates R3 Safety's ability to adapt to changing market conditions over many different market segments and was one of the key components in our firm's success during 2009," said Nick Mercadante, Regional Business Manager of R3 Safety. "We can now help customers like CriticalTool source all their Personal Protective Equipment in one place, reducing their cost to acquire these products in the process."

"Businesses are using companies such as CriticalTool more and more for their safety product sourcing and other procurement activities," Niyogi said. "By creating key partnerships like we have with R3 Safety, we will continue to drive better pricing and product availability for our customers. This will help them save valuable money that can create more jobs while not compromising customer and employee safety."

For more information about CriticalTool, or to learn more about how the innovative web catalog can save your firm money on its industrial safety needs, please visit their website at www.criticaltool.com.

More information about R3 Safety, and its comprehensive list of safety related items, is available at www.r3safety.com.

Media Contacts:
Rathi Niyogi
CriticalTool, Inc.
Phone: 610-814-2336

Joe Brancato
R3 Safety
Phone: 937-655-5900

Effective, Friday January 8, 2010, R3 Safety's Oakland, New Jersey warehouse will close to relocate to Scotia, New York. The Scotia location will be fully operational on Monday, January 11, 2010.

The relocation of the warehouse to the Scotia facility is advantageous for R3 Safety and R3 Safety's customers. "The new warehouse is larger and is in a location to better serve our customers in the Northeast" said Jim Walker, General Manager, R3 Safety.