p: The North American Market for Protective Products (in-part)

Writers note: This executive summary gives a quick “snapshot” of selected market segments addressed within a more in-depth study of the protective products marketplace

This report examines the North American market for personal protection products that, in their many forms, protect the wearer or associated product from harm. Analysis is completed though the assessment of six major market segments. Emphasis is placed on market information, trends, new products and forecasts. Some technical information is provided to a clear description when necessary.


Particulate protection

Fueled primarily by an increased need for cleanliness in manufacturing, particulate protection clothing has enjoyed significant growth over the last many years. For the most part, this growth was spurred by increases in cleanroom garments. New and emerging applications such as paint boxes and the deleading of older homes, however, contributed to an increase in penetration of all applications. Asbestos removal contributed significantly to production of particulate protection clothing but is a declining application as efforts to remove all asbestos from buildings are completed.
For the most part, cleanroom growth (over $4 billion in 2007) in the manufacture of electronics, food, and pharmaceuticals is responsible for overall particulate protection clothing growth. In other protective clothing applications, the clothing is designed to protect the wearer from noxious elements such as radiation or chemicals. In the cleanroom application, however, the protective clothing is designed to protect the product from the human operator. This is because the tolerances of product manufacture cannot withstand even the chance of one particle of dust, human hair or flake of skin. As the human body generates millions, if not more, particles every hour, it is the single largest hazard to the product being manufactured.

Cleanroom technology has also advanced and aided particulate protection clothing’s growth. In the past, cleanrooms were huge technical rooms that required tons of equipment and exceedingly complex systems. Today’s cleanrooms have become much less daunting, in a relative sense, but are non-the-less a complex system. Although this may appear to be oversimplifying what a cleanroom is and does it is accurate as new thin walled cleanrooms of varying sizes are introduced to associated markets. Additionally, the advent of these variable sized cleanroom units allows a wider net to be cast for those selling particulate protection products into the cleanroom segment.

Ballistic protection

The National Institutes for Justice (NIL) estimates that only 35 percent of active-duty police officers routinely wear their ballistic vests. Although this estimate does not affect existing sales of vests, it does suggest that vests could benefit from improvements that make them more comfortable. If comfort were increased, officers would wear their vests everyday and likely spur increased sales.
The need for ballistic garments, unfortunately, is not in dispute. Marketers do not have to work all that hard to sell their products; consequently, the market focus is somewhat different than other market segments. In this application the marketer is focusing his efforts on making sure that the customer buys the correct garment for their particular needs. If a customer buys too little ballistic protection, the result is obvious. If the customer buys to much ballistic protection, a potentially fatal overconfidence may occur or the associated discomfort may result in the garment not being used.

Companies producing ballistic fabric are small-to-medium-sized and relatively few in number. Competition is fierce between the leading manufacturers, and increased share is their battleground. With the exception of the United States the overall demand for ballistic protection has been slow in recent years. Peace keeping missions in several regions around the world, however, have stabilized the market to a degree.
There have been quite a few issues surrounding the United States militaries use of ballistic protection since the beginning of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Original specifications were required that did not meet the realities faced in these conflicts. Further restrictions placed on families trying to personally equip their relatives has not aided in righting the grievous wrongs perpetrated upon military personnel by the United States military.

Production levels have since been upgraded to the new requirements of the military although full production will require some time. The differing levels of protection that ballistic garments provide have, unfortunately, been very visible in this regard.

Ballistic protection has a stable future in the non-military sectors. If anything the segment will increase as ballistic garment stories are heard from returning military personnel. Technology is an ever-present factor in this particular market segment with materials becoming lighter and more efficient at dissipating the forces of projectiles and blunt force trauma. No material is projectile proof but the garments of today are becoming better.

Thermal protection

The key to working in this market segment is to look for applications that have not been exploited yet. Additionally, it is not necessary to make the entire thermal product to be successful. In many instances, the company may have to manufacture only a small part of the overall product to become profitable. The fire fighter turn-out coat is a case in point. The coat is made of three layers: The shell, the moisture barrier and the liner. Making one of the components in conjuncture with another manufacturer is a way to be profitable within the application.
Considering that the general concept of protection from heat or cold has been solved there are other considerations to think about when offering product to this market segment. Chief among these considerations are: weight, range of motion, comfort, hand washability and ice shedding for both heat and cold applications.
Largely driven by OSHA regulations a potential market is opening its arms to a possible opportunity for new manufacturers. This opportunity has to do with new standards from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) for utility line workers. The new standards are expected to address arcing requirements and cold protection elements of garments. If newer materials can meet these new standards there may be an opportunity for market penetration.

Medical protection

Traditional applications for medical protection products have remained fairly stable over the last several years. These areas include: packs and drapes, bed pads, wraps and other operating room apparel. New niche areas have developed to guarantee the purity of blood and the increase in back injuries suffered by nurses. Largely, this increase in back injuries is attributed to the increase in the number of patients who are sedated. As a sedated patient they are considered static, or dead weight. To reduce this increasing trend nurses are now wearing back braces to help moderate these injuries. The back braces are commonly constructed out of nylon and polypropylene webbing with an internal support system. Although these products are not necessarily considered medical products, they do represent a solid way to break into a fairly insular and cost conscious market application.

Another new application that is begging for attention is the liquid filtration application. Where the dry filtration application has long been a mainstay in medical protection, owing to air filters, the wet filtration application has been lagging. For the most part, the wet filtration application will see a continuing growth trend even as the HIV and drug resistant virus issues of the past become more the norm that the exception. In past years there was a bit of a spike in this application as manufacturers worked to fill a perceived void. In today’s market that void has been filled making growth somewhat slower in North America. Other parts of the world may hold growth potential although companies will need to search out agencies and governments that have available funds. Generally constructed from nonwoven materials this application of wet filtration has developed into an over $130 million application. A slow but solid steady growth is likely.
Cut and slash protection

Two issues drive the cut and slash protection segment. These two issues include OSHA’s continual setting forth of guidelines to protect workers and the always present specter of death or injury (no matter how small the injury may be.) Although this may appear to be a rather “flip” statement the segment does address the two extremes of possibility. Death on one side, and being pricked by a thorn on the other. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon how one wants to address the issue, the pricking of a finger is the bigger of the two options in dollar terms. Generally, this is due to the inclusion of work gloves on one end of the spectrum.
As with other types of protective products specifying the correct product for the particular application is critical. If the incorrect product is specified, not only will the user be at increased risk, the product will suffer a premature failure causing the possibility of further injury. The characteristics that should be considered when specifying a particular product for the cut and slash segment include: comfort, flexibility, cost, durability and abrasion resistance, thermal resistance in certain applications, cut resistance and puncture resistance.
Chemical protection

Depending upon the size and type of business using the chemical protection product, limited use and reusable protective products are recommended. Limited-use garments are most often specified, comprising 70 percent of all potential applications. For the most part a nonwoven material is specified for wearable protective products due to their resistance to a large variety of chemical, lower cost and variable modification for differing types of chemicals.

This is not to suggest that reusable protective products are not being specified. Enough companies are specifying multi-use garments so that a cleaning service industry has become a fairly profitable venture. In many respects, it is with the multi-use cleaning company that the life-cycle of the protective product begins and ends.
This particular aspect of protective products has developed from a more unlikely part of the products use. Since many companies, such as laboratories, use a number of protective products regardless of whether they are multi-use or disposable there is not sufficient inventory or storage space to keep the products. Because of this the companies will tend to lease the protective products as a cost measure in addition to their primary use.

Executive summary end-