The escalating need for personal eye protective equipment to prevent workplace injuries will leverage the growth of Industrial Eye Protection Market. This industry is governed by strict legislations addressing the issues pertaining to the safety of the industrial employees. The enforcement of these legislations will have a lasting impact on industrial eye protection industry. The emergence of new internet technologies such as IoT with the growing requirement for real-time data detection has led to a surging demand for wearable devices across warehousing, manufacturing, retail, and mining. This has effectuated the requirement for portable eyeglasses, wrist-worn instruments, caps equipped with sensors, visual aids, and voice recognition technology, which is predicted to create lucrative avenues for industrial eye-protection market players.
U.S. Industrial Eye Protection Market, By Product, 2013-2024, (Million Units)
In January 2017, Luxottica Group S.p.A, an Italian eyewear firm, and Essilor International S.A., an ophthalmic lenses & ophthalmic optical equipment firm based in France, finalized a merger deal worth USD 49 billion with an objective of building an eyewear powerhouse that can fetch an annual profit of over EUR 15 billion for both the firms. Such mergers can lead to the colossal expansion of industrial eye protection market. Global Market Insights, Inc., compiled a report stating that industrial eye protection industry, which collected a revenue of USD 1.92 billion in 2016, is set to surpass USD 2.5 billion by 2024.
Regional trends depict Asia Pacific industrial eye protection industry to attain substantial revenue over the coming years, pertaining to an increase in the level of awareness among the factory workers as well as employers about workplace safety. Improvement in the social and economic conditions of the employees in countries such as Japan, China, South Korea, and India will further influence the regional development.
North America industrial eye protection market is anticipated to record a CAGR of 3.2% over the coming seven years. The presence of numerous labor unions along with the strict implementation of labor laws addressing the safety of the employees working in the factories will help the business flourish across the region.
Eye protection devices find major application across firefighting, construction, food processing, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, mining, transportation, and chemical sectors. Construction applications, which were evaluated at more than USD 310 million in 2016, are expected to strongly influence the business over the span of the next few years. The rise in the government funding on constructing roads, bridges, tunnels, and dams will favorably impact the industrial eye protection market share. The fact that the worldwide construction sector is predicted to be cross USD 15.5 trillion by 2030 will help to augment the growth of this segment. China and India are expected to be the prospective investment destinations for APAC, given that the construction expenditure of the former valued at more than USD 730 billion in 2016 and that of the latter projected at more than USD 1 trillion by 2025.
Oil & gas sector, which accounted for over 25% of global industrial eye protection industry share in 2016, is anticipated to experience a notable surge over the coming years. Mounting requirement of safety gears for workers carrying out offshore and onshore activities such as exploration, refining, mining, and transportation is expected to impel industrial eye protection industry.
Safety goggles, face shields, safety spectacles, and welding shields are some of the major products used for eye protection in various industries. Safety goggles are expected to contribute more than USD 970 million towards industrial eye protection industry revenue by 2024. The growth can be credited to rise in the product popularity across research units and pharmaceutical labs.
Industrial eye protection market size from face shields is expected to record a CAGR of more than 4% over the coming timeline, subject to the product’s ability to protect the eyes from pathogens and chemicals. Safety spectacles, having held a revenue of USD 770 million in 2016, are projected to witness an immense growth in the future. Shifting trends toward the use of safety spectacles as a result of their ability to rectify astigmatism, short-sightedness, and farsightedness will spur the business landscape. Technological product innovations such as anti-scratch, UVA/UVB protection, and anti-glare features will further add towards the product demand, thereby creating a positive impact on industrial eye protection market development.
Protective eyewear are manufactured from materials such as polycarbonate, glass, CR-39 lenses, and Trivex. CR-39 lenses, which contributed over 39% toward industrial eye protection market size in 2016, are expected to record a CAGR of 3% over the coming timeframe. Surging requirement of high quality optical material with lower production costs will benefit the industry growth. The popularity of chemical, heat, and impact resisting lenses will contribute majorly towards industrial eye protection market share over the coming years.
Market participants are constantly engaged in numerous growth strategies to increase their product portfolio through improved production capacity and joint ventures. Honeywell International Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corporation, MSA Safety Incorporated, The 3M Company, and Sioen Industries are some of the major players of industrial eye protection industry.