Safe bets in a mature market

By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 10/1/2000

As the safety equipment market matures, factors like product style, insurance company pressure for safer workplaces and low-priced, imported products leave a relatively mild imprint on the market as a whole, but can have a deep impact on individual distributors.

A recent Frost & Sullivan U.S. Personal Protection Equipment Markets study calculated 1999 U.S. sales at $1.1 billion. The market is projected to increase to $1.38 billion by 2005, a compound annual growth rate of just over 3 percent each year. Karen Rasmussen, an industry manager for environmental health and safety at the marketing consulting and training company headquartered in San Jose, Calif., says the industry growth rate is slowing.

"You'll see spikes and valleys due to regulations," Rasmussen says, "but it's an overall flat curve."

Michael Stamm, the president of Madison, Wisc.-based Conney Safety Products Co., agrees that the market goes through cycles in conjunction with regulations. Stamm also says that companies are increasingly likely to recognize the value of safety.

"Workplaces are recognizing the need for safety and the economic impact that safety plays in the workplace," Stamm says.

The study examined trends in four segments of the PPE market: eye, head, ear and respiratory protection. In one example, manufacturers and OSHA are working together on hearing protection campaigns. In the head protection segment, sales are directly tied to the construction market. Sales of disposable and semi-disposable respirators are growing in the firefighting industry. In the eye protection market, marketing campaigns and product styles drive sales.

"It's the Gucci syndrome," Rasmussen says. "They want flashy eyewear instead of protective glasses. We're seeing a high replacement rate."

Stamm agrees, noting that the individual compliance level with protective eyewear regulations has increased with the availability of attractive safety glasses.

Beyond fashion considerations, the drive for safety increasingly comes from insurance companies protecting themselves against litigation. Also, OSHA's orientation toward a more collaborative or consulting organization encourages the adoption of workplace safety procedures.

"OSHA has moved from being a standard setting body to an organization that works with companies to see that they have adequate safety procedures," Rasmussen says.