New regional manager for Christeyns as laundry professional retires after 20 years in the business

Christeyns’ Regional Manager, Keith Stone, is retiring from the business and moving to British Overseas Territory St Helena after 20 years’ service. Russ Pannell has been appointed to take over the role.

Keith Stone has taken the decision to retire from Christeyns and move with his wife to the island of St Helena. Keith joined Bradford based Christeyns in September 2001 and was a key member of the Southern team, working initially as an account manager, then Deputy Manager and latterly Area Manager for the South East.

Stepping into the role is Russ Pannell, who joined Christeyns in 2016 and has a long career in the laundry and hygiene sector. Russ started out as a washer extractor maintenance engineer before moving to the hygiene chemical side where he has held several senior operational management roles.

“I am looking forward to the new challenges this role will offer,” states Russ. “I worked closely with Keith for several years and he will be a hard act to follow but I hope to achieve continued sales growth, developing my team and providing a first class service.”

Russ continues: “The market has been through a lot of challenges in the past 18 months but fortunately we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and customers are getting busier by the day.”

Operations Director Justin Kerslake comments on the appointment, “Popular with his peers, Russ shows immense enthusiasm and is dedicated to customer service. He will be a strong addition to the CUK management structure.”

In his spare time, Russ is a keen amateur yachtsman often out sailing on the River Medway and the English Channel. He also cycles and plays badminton.

Christeyns UK is part of the global Christeyns group producing innovative solutions both chemical and technical for the laundry and commercial hygiene sectors across the UK and Ireland.