Asia Pacific & Middle East personal protective equipment (PPE) market is expected to experience a lucrative growth over the forecast period, on account of rising awareness about employee safety and health. The market was estimated to value at over USD 9.60 billion in 2015. Technological advancements coupled with changing trend and requirement for protective equipment which includes safety with style and appeal is further anticipated to augment market expansion over the next eight years.
The industry is expected to escalate on account of growing infrastructure and construction projects, thus opening new opportunities for the sector in Asia Pacific and the Middle East Africa. Rapid urbanization coupled with industrialization in developing countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Vietnam and South Korea is expected to promote skilled labour demand which in turn is expected to fuel the product demand over the upcoming years.
Regulatory agencies such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) implement safety standards which are expected to drive the market size in the near future. Stringent norms on employers to make it mandatory to ensure workers safety by the regulatory agencies in the Middle East and Asia Pacific owing to the increasing hazards in these provinces will fuel growth. Accidents include reimbursement to family, work disturbance, legal issues, loss of life, costs and infrastructure damages; thus, industry players have increased the safety of the workers.
An increasing number of R&D establishments along with blue collar labours across various production oriented industries is expected to drive the demand for the product over the next eight years. However, unavailability of appropriate data from industries is expected to acts as the challenge for market players over the forecast period.
Rising number of onshore and offshore accidents along with strict safety norms is compelling the employers to implement personal protective equipment to confirm the safety of workers. In addition, huge compensational costs arising on account of the loss of life or injuries is expected to increase product market penetration in the next eight years.
Hand protection was the dominant segment and accounted for over 23.0% of the global revenue in 2015 and will witness growth on account of increasing occupational mortalities coupled with rising hand protection requirement in numerous industries including oil & gas, refining, metal manufacturing and automotive sector over the forecast period.
Protective footwear is expected to show high gains on account of rising awareness in construction, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, oil and gas, chemicals, transportation, food, and mining over the forecast period.
Asia Pacific was the dominant industry and accounted for over 65.0% of the market share in 2015 and is expected to witness significant growth owing to rising construction expenditure coupled with increasing oil & gas and transportation industries in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. These countries are expected to experience noteworthy growth in PPE demand on account of the execution of various OSHA regulations concerning employee health and safety in companies within the regions.
Middle East PPE market is expected to witness moderate growth over the upcoming years on account of strict regulatory norms along with growing employee awareness about personal safety. In addition, rising oil & gas industry in the region is expected to drive the product market over the forecast period.
Asia Pacific & Middle East PPE market is dominated by five players including Honeywell, MSA Company, 3M, Ansell, and DuPont. Honeywell is constantly involved in R&D to develop various application specific products. Other major players include Ansell Ltd., Superior Glove Works Limited, Alpha Pro Tech, Delta Plus, Uvex Safety Group Jal Group Italia Srl and Globus.
In April 2015, the Honeywell launched rigid rail fall arrest systems to offer workers with fall protection and mobility while working at height.
