Safety Awareness Campaigns to Continue Driving Increased PPE Market Penetration in Russia, Finds Frost & Sullivan

LONDON - Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is an essential purchase for any industry wherein employees have to operate in a hazardous environment. Historically, not all workers have been provided with a level of protection that is now considered suitable. Demand for PPE is set to rise in conjunction with the growing global awareness of the need to provide safe working environments.

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“The recent boom in the Russian construction industry, especially in Moscow, saw rapid increase in accidents and injuries to workers,” notes Frost & Sullivan Programme Manager Dr. Brian Balmer. “The situation reached such an unacceptable level, that the city’s mayor, Yury Luzhkov, had to intervene to resolve the issue.”

This had an instant effect on the PPE market, with companies witnessing an immediate impact on their sales to the construction industry. Products such as fall protection benefited substantially, with increasing orders being placed for them.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (www.chemicals.frost.com), Russian PPE Markets, finds that the markets earned revenues of over euro 677.0 million in 2008 and estimates this to reach euro 1.3 billion in 2015. The study covers the following segments: head, eye & hearing protection; respiratory protection; protective clothing, gloves and footwear.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides a brief synopsis of the research on the Russian PPE Markets and a table of contents, then send an e-mail to Katja Feick, Corporate Communications, at katja.feick@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, a brochure will be sent to you by e-mail.

Continued transparency over issues such as industrial accident rates will sustain PPE sales to the construction industry, driving market penetration rates. The mining industry also offers significant growth opportunities for the adoption of PPE.

Organic growth is possible in sectors where penetration levels are still relatively low. This applies most to gloves and above-the-neck PPE in Russia. As potential users at the lower end of the scale gradually recognise the importance of using effective PPE, demand for certified products will continue to rise.

However, the process of changing current attitudes will be slow. This is partly because of the lack of financial resources available for end-user companies to spend on PPE. Moreover, customers tend to be complacent, convinced about the efficacy of the conventional equipment that they have been using thus far.

“PPE suppliers still encounter customers with the view that ‘if we could work with the equipment we had 40 years ago, we can still work like that now’,” explains Dr. Balmer.

The best way to encourage workers to wear appropriate PPE is developing application-oriented products. For instance, users are aware of the need to wear gloves, but choose not to, because cheap and bulky gloves seriously hinder their ability to perform their jobs. In this particular case, marketing efforts must therefore focus on the dexterity offered by the new generation of modern gloves.

In May 2007, the Russian government signed a federal law which includes PPE as one of a set of product groups that will be updated as “priority directives” by 1st January 2010. The updates are expected to further harmonize Russian legislation with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules on international trade and bolster the domestic PPE market.

Russian PPE Markets is part of the Performance Materials Growth Partnership Service programme, which also includes research in the following markets: European Above-the-neck PPE Markets, U.S. Markets for Protective Gloves, and Chinese PPE Markets. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

GIL 2009: Europe

Frost & Sullivan has expanded its flagship Global Congress on Corporate Growth - GIL Global - into several major cities around the world including London. For the first time ever in Europe, Frost & Sullivan will be hosting the Growth, Innovation and Leadership Congress ‘GIL 2009: Europe’ on 19-20 May, at the Sofitel St James in London. GIL Global is the industry’s only event designed to support senior executives in their efforts to achieve sustainable, top-line growth. To register, obtain a programme agenda, explore sponsorship opportunities, or attend as a member of the media for GIL 2009: Europe, please contact Katja Feick, Corporate Communications Europe, at katja.feick@frost.com. One-on-One interviews with Frost & Sullivan senior growth consultants are also being scheduled. For more information you can also visit www.frost.com/gilglobal

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Russian PPE Markets M305 Contact: Katja Feick Corporate Communications - Europe P: +49-(0)-69-7703343 E: katja.feick@frost.com www.frost.com/

Source: Frost & Sullivan

Katja Feick, Corporate Communications - Europe of Frost & Sullivan, +49-(0)-69-7703343, katja.feick at frost.com. Photo: https://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO