Opportunities for respiratory protective equipment

The demand for respiratory protective equipment in western Europe from segments such as the emergency responders and marine industry has been increasing significantly, while new opportunities continue to present themselves and contribute to growth in sales amidst episodes such as avian bird flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and terrorist attacks.

The markets continue to evolve as products and manufacturing techniques develop in tandem with the increasing sophistication in end-user needs.

On their part, industry participants are focussing on implementing cost-cutting measures, improving their operating efficiency and delivering results to suppress the negative impact of the persistent pricing pressures and volatile market environment.

"As price competition and acquisitions prevail, equipment manufacturers are actively seeking means to establish and maintain their competitive advantage," notes Kumud Verma, research analyst with Frost and Sullivan.

"In addition to the demand from niche applications and higher acceptance of sophisticated safety equipment, the stronger legislation in western Europe is a key driver for greater sales in the respiratory protective equipment markets".

The impact of legislation is likely to be particularly significant in regions that have until now been slow in adopting them.

Some of these standards are already in their third generation and certain technological advancements and new requirements necessitate revisions in standards, as witnessed in the case of flame engulfment tests for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).

The impact of these regulations is set to strengthen in the future when ISO standardisation of the respiratory protective equipment takes place.

Particularly, formalisation of standards for equipment providing protection against chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) materials will provide new market opportunities, especially for powered air-purifying respirators and escape-only equipment.

Among all these developments, companies need to overcome daunting challenges such as market saturation and increasing influx of low-priced products from Asia by being more responsive towards the changing markets.

It will become necessary to focus on building brand recognition over a period, as the companies rely a great deal on the image projected by their brands.

"More companies are focusing on offering high performance-oriented products and adapting to the changing customer landscape," reiterates Verma.

"These companies have been successful to a large extent in establishing themselves strongly in the markets, based on the simple fact that numerous users are willing to pay a higher price for branded equipment".

Manufacturers could also concentrate on improving the design and ergonomics of protective equipment.

This enables equipment suppliers to differentiate their products and increase the acceptance among end users.

Further, educating customers would help them in opting for the most suitable equipment, a critical factor that would eventually boost sales of quality equipment.

Currently, the markets are benefiting from users' preference for equipment that offers comfort along with technically superior performance.

This is amply reflected in the market revenues where disposable masks and SCBAs respectively account for 25 per cent of sales.

Disposable masks cater to a vast range of applications and require frequent replacements.

SCBAs, on the other hand, have limited applications and longer replacement lifespan.

Overall, the eight segments within the market are likely to generate revenues of euro567 million in 2011, an increase from euro489 million recorded in 2005.

European standardisation at an international level will present one of the most pressing challenges to the respiratory protective equipment industry in the next few years.

A subcommittee for respiratory protection in ISO TC 94 requires strong European representation that will safeguard the integration of European standards into international standards and will protect European businesses against high restructuring costs.

Presently, factors as diverse as standardisation at the international level, geographic expansion, outsourcing of production, optimisation of production process, following smart pricing policy, offering more value to end users through product differentiation and enhanced features could have a positive impact on the future of the region's respiratory protective equipment markets.