Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Industry

Introduction :

Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to the respiratory equipment, garments, and
barrier materials used to protect rescuers and medical personnel from exposure to
biological, chemical, and radioactive hazards.

• The goal of personal protective equipment is to prevent the transfer of hazardous

material from victims or the environment to rescue or health care workers.

• Different types of PPE may be used depending on the hazard present. The types
of hazards addressed here include biological warfare agents (BWAs), chemical
warfare agents (CWAs), and radioactive agents.

• The most common routes of exposure to these hazards include inhalation

(breathing, from the air), skin contact, and ingestion (eating or drinking).

The use of personal protective equipment by the general public for protection against
chemical and biological agents is controversial. Currently, the Centers for Disease
Control and Protection (CDC) does not recommend that the public purchase respiratory
protective equipment (gas masks) for several reasons.

• The likelihood that any person will be involved in a chemical or biological attack
is extremely low.

• The CDC believes that gas masks may cause a false sense of security for the
public.

• Masks that aren’t used properly or that do not fit well do not provide adequate
protection and may in fact be harmful to one's health.

What is PPE?

Personal protective equipment is designed to protect you from health and safety hazards
that cannot practically be removed from your work area. Personal protective equipment
protects many parts of your body including eyes, face, head, hands, feet, and ears.

Head Protection

Hard hats protect you from impact and penetration caused by objects hitting your head.
They also give you limited protection from electrical shock or burns.

Eye Protection

You must always wear proper eye protection if you work with: molten metals, liquid
chemicals, hazardous gases, or flying particles.
Hearing Protection

Hearing protection consists of earplugs and earmuffs. Wear hearing protection when:

• The sounds in your work area are irritating.

• You need to raise your voice to be heard by someone closer than
two feet away.
• Sound levels reach 85 decibels or higher for an 8-hour time period.
• There are short bursts of sound that can cause hearing damage.

Hand Protection

You must wear gloves for protection against severe cuts or lacerations, severe abrasions,
punctures, chemical burns, thermal burns, and harmful temperature extremes.

Foot Protection

Foot protection is important to prevent injuries in case a heavy or sharp object falls on
your foot or you step on an object that could pierce your shoe.

Product groups

There are the following product groups:

• Workwear (including traditional workwear and protective clothing, but excluding
uniforms
• Protective gloves (excluding plastic gloves)
• Safety footwear (limited to products incorporating a protective metal toe cap)
• Safety headgear (helmets)
• Protective glasses
• Breathing appliances (air purification)
• Fall protection
• Life jackets

Major Players And Market Shares :(Market Size)

The market for PPE, covering the product groups under review in this survey, in the EU
is estimated to have been € 10.3 billion in 2007. The market grew 2.1% annually in terms
of value in the period 2003-2007. Germany remained the most important market for PPE
in the EU, despite the slowly increasing expenditure, with its market share of 20.5%,
followed by the UK, France, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands.

. Companies like Bardusch, Berendsen, Elis, Rentokil Initial and Rentex/Fortex operate
in many European countries and have taken over many nationally or regionally operating
companies. The website http://industrialrent.com gives you a detailed list of addresses of
textiles, workwear lease companies in several countries and in several languages.
About 43% of the PPE market in the EU concerned workwear (traditional workwear and
protective clothing) in the period under review. The market for traditional workwear
decreased in favour of more specialist protective (CE-marked) clothing. Caused by
intensive price competition, the market for other major product groups like protective
footwear and protective gloves increased more in volume than in value. Expenditure on
other PPE products increased in terms of value.

Employers in the ten EU countries which entered the EU in 2004, as well as Romania and
Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, are obliged by law to provide PPE where it is
needed. For that reason, an average annual growth rate of 5.3% was reached by these
countries, thereby outpacing the European average. Regarding most of the other EU
countries, it can be said that the PPE market was tough in 2005-2007, because of
continuous staff reductions and general cost-saving measures by companies and other
organizations.

Production
Total EU production of PPE in 2007, according to Eurostat's Prodcom, amounted to € 2.6
billion, which was 8% lower than in 2003. Italy is the leading producer of workwear in
the EU, followed by Spain, Poland and Romania. Italy has also been the leading producer
of safety footwear (followed by Germany, France, Finland and Spain) and safety
headgear (followed by the UK, Germany, France and Spain) for many years, while
France was the leading producer of protective gloves (followed by the UK, Spain, Poland
and Germany).

Increasing levels of price sensitivity among end-users is forcing market participants to re-
evaluate their production options. In order to improve their cost competitiveness, several
EU manufacturers re-located their production facilities from high-cost economies to low-
cost regions, such as the Far East. Finding new sales areas and (vertical) integration are
major strategies for PPE companies in the EU.

Imports
The EU member states imported 686 thousand tons of PPE at a value of € 6.2 billion in
2007, of which 51% came from DCs. During the period 2003-2007, total EU imports
increased annually 7.7% in terms of value and 7.2% in terms of volume. The average
import price in 2007 was only 1.7% higher in 2007 than in 2003. Germany remained the
leading importer in 2007 with an import share of 18% in terms of value, followed by
France (15%), UK (13%), Italy (10%), Belgium (7%) and Spain (7%). The Netherlands
(6%) ranked seventh, followed by Sweden, Denmark and Austria.

The role of DCs increased strongly in the period 2003-2007, the import share of DCs
having accounted for 45% in 2003, 49% in 2005 and 51% in 2007. Imports from DCs
rose by 47% in the period 2003-2007, intra-EU trade by 18%, while imports from
countries outside the EU (excluding DCs) decreased from 7.6% to 6.7% during the same
period. The import share of DCs varied strongly per product group: from 2% for
breathing appliances to 67% for protective gloves. Total imports of all product groups
increased in absolute terms, of which safety headgear, footwear and life jackets grew
more strongly than average. China remained by far the leading supplier of PPE to the EU,
before Malaysia, Tunisia, Thailand and India. Total imports from China increased
strongly: 30% in the whole period 2005-2007 (against 41% during 2003-2005). In 2005,
19% of total EU imports came from China; in 2007: 21%. The growth of imports from
China increased almost 21% annually, during the period 2003-2007.

Exports
The EU exported 205 thousand tons of PPE with a value of € 4.0 billion in 2007,
representing an annual growth of 4.5% in the period 2003-2007. Italy remained the
leading EU exporter, mainly caused by its exports of protective footwear and safety
headgear. Export activities by the EU countries vary strongly per product group.

Probable Customers

About 170 million people in the EU wear corporate clothing and/or use other PPE
products. Total (average) expenditure per employee in western Europe varied from € 45
for users of traditional workwear to € 600 for users of one or more PPE products.
Expenditure per employee in some East European countries was even lower.

Purchasing needs and buying patterns tend to vary from region to region. Key geographic
trends indicate that companies in the southern European countries spend considerably
less per employee on PPE than those in northern Europe, although countries such as Italy
and Spain have been catching up. Notably, companies in Scandinavia and the UK have
the highest PPE expenditure per employee, followed by Germany and France.
Experts estimated that 10% of employees in the EU wear rental or leased corporate
clothing.

Demand for PPE is determined and influenced (among other factors) by:

• Number of employees and their (professional) activities;

• Legislation, like the law on health and safety in the working place (EU-PPE
legislation). Governmental and EU measures have resulted in an increasing
consciousness regarding safety in working circumstances and concern a broad range
of protective products besides clothing, i.e. also other safety products, from helmet to
safety shoe;

• Awareness by individual corporations of the need to protect employees is also

influenced by the size of the corporation;
• Personal acceptance by employees of the use of PPE;
• Investments often derived from (expected) economic developments;
• Increasing instances of terror attacks and epidemics have resulted in a generally
higher level of awareness regarding PPE;
• Fashion influences;
• Influence from competitive products, for instance the market share of competitive
products like disposable clothing (if CE certified to the latest EN standards it can also
protect wearers from hazardous substances, both chemical and particulate) compared to
clothing made of textiles.

Different Distribution Modes

The structure of the PPE business is a complicated one. Most of the manufacturers have
their own specialisation in the categories mentioned. In general, manufacturers do not
undertake direct selling operations to end-users, except for the largest international
companies, which often operate on the basis of contracts concerning large quantities.
Many (larger groups) companies, however, have extended their assortment through the
acquisition of specialists in other products or they purchase products to complement their
own assortment. The PPE market can be characterised further as a large network of
distributors on several regional levels per country. In general, distributors may also deal
in imported goods. Companies in low-labour-cost countries and national distributors are
increasingly threatening the European-based companies. Distributors are sourcing own-
label products from foreign contract manufacturers and selling them at lower cost than
the traditional branded products These products are often simply copies of innovative
branded products launched earlier.

Available channels on the PPE market in EU countries are:

Manufacturers:

• Domestic manufacturing companies (often with production activities abroad) are

mainly specialised in one specific product group operating on the domestic market and
often in combination with exporting;
• Manufacturers complement their range by offering goods from other sources,
including imports;
• Global or internationally operating manufacturing companies (based in USA,
Australia etc.) with headquarters in Europe;
• Manufacturing companies from abroad with manufacturing and/or commercial
interests in a specific EU country;
• Selling agents or selling offices for foreign manufacturers.

Importing intermediaries:

• Importers: these companies import large volumes of one specific product group
(mostly from the Far East) and usually sell to other resellers, rather than direct to end-
users;
• National PPE distributors or wholesalers offering a PPE assortment from other
sources.
This can be branded products of major manufacturers and/or private labels sourced
from contract manufacturers;
• Other channels, like DIY chains, cash & carry companies (Makro/Metro etc.) or
general wholesalers.

Non-importing intermediaries:

• Non-importing wholesalers, mostly specialised in a broad PPE range with a general

character or specialised in a specific branch or specific activities;

• Retailers, mostly specialised in workwear who sell to both consumers and

professional users in small units;

• Other channels, like specialised retailers, DIY outlets, street markets etc.

Importing end-users:

• Workwear rental/lease laundry companies, in some cases offering a PPE assortment;

• Large industrial and governmental organizations.

Manufacturers as well as wholesalers operate more and more via direct-mail activities
(catalogues and via Internet).

Trends

• Indirect buying from distributors or wholesalers and direct buying (by negotiation or
through catalogues) from the manufacturer are the most important distribution channels
for PPE in the EU, followed by rental or lease. It is believed that catalogue business
including e-commerce (by manufacturer as well as by wholesaler), will become the major
growth areas throughout most of the European PPE markets. The market share of
distributors/wholesalers and tender is predicted to increase, meanwhile, direct sales from
manufacturers, rental/leasing and retail and other channels are expected to stay flat.

• There is an increase in concentration of rental/lease companies in the EU, just as there

is in the PPE sector. Companies like Bardusch, Berendsen, Elis, Rentokil Initial and
Rentex/Fortex operate in many European countries and have taken over many nationally
or regionally operating companies. The website http://industrialrent.com gives you a
detailed list of addresses of textiles, workwear lease companies in several countries and
in several languages.

• Traditional workwear is partly rented or leased for employees in the medical,

hospitality (hotel/restaurant) and manufacturing sectors. Most of the products in this
sector are made of 67/33 polyester/cotton. In most types of industries, one person will use
about three to four sets (a set can consist of several units) of workwear per year.
As mentioned above, exporters of PPE are confronted with many aspects like quality
standards (CE marking!), product liability, sizing, packaging and environmental aspects.
These result in a lot of technical requirements, added to which are aspects of design,
fashion, comfort, ergonomics and market developments etc. For that reason, co-operation
in a variety of forms between importer and exporter can be necessary, of which the more
far-reaching forms of potential co-operation are joint ventures and co-makership
agreements.