Industries such as manufacturing, construction, oil & gas, healthcare, transportation, firefighting, food and others are going to bring a huge demand for PPE in the Indian market. Additionally, end users are focusing more and more on safety and health, due to stricter norms leading to training and workshops organised by companies, says Neellohit Banerjee.

 

Industrial safety is given foremost importance in manufacturing and production due to the strict norms and various health hazards that plants pose. Companies are becoming more and more aware and taking steps to educate their employees through safety weeks and workshops. A very core aspect of the industrial safety equipment industry is the personal protective equipment such as safety goggles, safety helmet, protective clothing, respirators, fall protection among others. The Indian PPE market is pegged at around Rs 7,800 million with an expected CAGR of ~19 per cent. By revenue, 60 per cent of the Indian PPE market is controlled by organised players.

 

Focus of the industry

Personal protective equipment is used to provide protection against health risks in hazardous work environment. According to USA federal organisation, OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration), personal protective equipment, commonly referred to as PPE, is equipment worn to minimise exposure to serious workplace injuries and illnesses. These injuries and illnesses may result from contact with chemical, radiological, physical, electrical, mechanical, or other workplace hazards. Personal protective equipment may include items such as gloves, safety glasses, shoes, earplugs or muffs, hard hats, respirators, coveralls, vests and full body suits. Based on type, the PPE market is classified into hands and arm protection, protective clothing, foot and leg protection, respiratory protection, eye and face protection, head protection and others. “The hands and arm protection segment is expected to lead the personal protective equipment market during the forecast period, due to its growing use in the manufacturing, healthcare and construction industries,” says Avinash Sawalka, Managing Director, Sawalka Kel Pvt Ltd.

 

Whereas the organised market is consolidated with the presence of 10-12 major players, the unorganised market is highly fragmented. “Current GNO business has high level of synergy with PPE market due to channel and customer readiness along with the GNO brand. The PPE market is price sensitive but big customers are ready to pay a premium on brand and quality. Direct supplier channels are the key form of PPE distribution for large and organised players,” Sawalka informs. There is a definite space for new entrants in the market, but ‘me-too’ products will have limited appeal.

 

When asked what Sawalka is doing to tackle these demands, Avinash Sawalka says, “the company has a futuristic vision, and considering awareness and demand we are adding products, and increasing capacity with updated innovation and technology. Our partner WWS has currently three dipping lines to cater to the Indian and global demand. We are adding two more dipping lines at the end of this year.”

 

Demand drivers

In terms of end-use industry, the market is classified into manufacturing, construction, oil & gas, healthcare, transportation, firefighting, food and others. Construction is projected to be the fastest-growing end-use industry segment, due to the increasing consumer spending and new construction projects in developing countries such as India, China and Brazil. In addition, the increasing use of personal protective equipment by workers in bridge erection, residential construction, roadway paving, demolitions and excavations is also driving this end-use industry.

Using PPE is often essential, but it is generally the last line of defence after engineering controls, work practices and administrative controls. Engineering controls involve physically changing a machine or work environment. Administrative controls involve changing how or when workers do their job, such as scheduling work and rotating workers to reduce exposures. Work practices involve training workers how to perform tasks in ways that reduce their exposure to workplace hazards.

 

“It is an employer’s responsibility to find hazards and control them. If such hazards are present, it is must to select protective equipment and require workers to use it, communicate about protective equipment selection decisions to workers and select personal protective equipment that properly fits to workers,” expresses Sawalka.

 

End user’s perspective

All workers should feel safe where they work. Being safe at work is a right and not a privilege. This means that however hazardous a person's job, they should be provided with safety equipment and training that makes them feel secure. Certainly, some jobs are far more hazardous than others and people undertaking them face a greater risk of injury than the average worker does. Such workers must be trained and equipped, so that they can work more safely and efficiently.

 

Across Indian construction sites, workers are equipped with safety equipment such as safety helmets, safety gloves and safety goggles. However, even seemingly simple PPE such as these must be worn properly if they are to serve their purpose. Although many contractors in India teach workers how to correctly wear such PPE and how to inspect them regularly, many others do not, defeating the purpose of equipping workers with such equipment.

 

Everyone working on machineries has to wear safety goggles and wear gloves during assembly processes. Smaller manufacturers make sure their basic safety levels are in place. They make sure everyone is using the safety uniform, shoes, goggles and gloves.

“We are using safety goggles, safety belts, safety shoes, jackets and ensure that work is done only after wearing these equipment. For us, safety is the most important aspect and work comes after that. We train our employees on a weekly or monthly basis. Not a single employee is working without wearing the safety equipment. Nowadays, there is immense stress given to ensuring safety,” says Owais Pasha, Service Head, Luthra Pneumsys.

 

Seco Tools Pvt Ltd is also following all the applicable norms and policies, be that state-level or central-level. Seco is also implementing a 100 per cent compliance policy. “We are not accepting any deviation in the legal norms. In case of any delay, it is addressed immediately by the management and action is initiated based on that priority. From the point-of-view of health, we are taking health check-up reports at the start of any activity from all contractors, and we make sure if a person’s health doesn’t permit, then we inform them accordingly. We also carry out the annual health inspection for contractors as well as company employees,” reveals Anjum Maner, Manager, Environment, Health, Safety & Quality, Seco Tools.

 

Personality :- The hands and arm protection segment is expected to lead the personal protective equipment market during the forecast period, due to its growing use in the manufacturing, healthcare and construction industries.

-Avinash Sawalka, Managing Director, Sawalka Kel Pvt Ltd

 

Growth potential

One trend in the market is integration of e-commerce channels for procurement of PPE. The B2B e-commerce market in India is still at a nascent stage and offers a high opportunity for growth. The market is expected to reach $700 billion by 2020. The procurement of PPE via e-commerce channels is gaining momentum in India. “This integration will enable customers to compare products and see product reviews, videos, photos and blogs, which are embedded with product information originating from the manufacturer,” says Sawalka.

 

When asked about the strategies to tap the PPE market, Sawalka replies, “KEL believes in the one-to-one market with end-user customised solutions. Our key to growth is to listen to our customers and make products according to their requirements in hand related protection. Keeping that view, we have trained our team and meet them personally to give them solutions and consider cost and safety.”Some of the factors which can push the growth of the market include proper training and awareness which can prompt users, use protective equipment properly, be aware of when personal protective equipment is necessary and know what kind of protective equipment is necessary. Besides, it also crucial to grasp the limitations of PPE in protecting workers from injury and maintain protective equipment properly.