Advanced Protective Gear and Armor

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Advanced protective clothing and associated gear is an industry that plays a critical role in the protection of firemen, police officers, military personnel, and industrial workers. Concerns for general worker safety, including protection from death and disabling injuries and illnesses, as well as protection from the specific threats of chemicals, biological agents, fire, bullets, and fragmentation particles, result in an entire industry devoted to personal protective equipment and gear. This equipment includes everything from chemical protective garments and suits to firefighters' turnout gear to industrial fire retardant garments to bullet-resistant vests to respirators. Military armor for vehicles and to a greater extent for personnel has become another advanced industry segment.

While this type of protective gear and armor industry has seen a few new standards and regulations, there have been significant revisions and additions to the existing standards for worker protective clothing in the areas of chemical protection, fire protection, and bullet-resistant garments. Viewing what is available to the military, first responders seek to upgrade the protective gear that they have.

SCOPE OF STUDY

This report contains:

• Descriptions of various types of protective gear and armor, their material types and the designers of the products
• The current market status for advanced protective gear and armor in the U.S., and forecasts of growth over the next five years
• An examination of personal protective industry regulations and standards
• Technological issues crucial to the industry.

INFORMATION SOURCES

The material researched and presented in this report is based on information gathered from personal contacts within government agencies, individuals involved in materials and manufacturing, industry consultants, and to some degree, on the authors' personal experience.

Additional data was obtained from reviews of secondary sources, such as trade publications, trade-associated company literature, government documents, and patents. This was done in an effort to supplement the application, market, and trend data gathered from primary sources. All monetary projections presented in this report are reported in constant U.S. dollars.

ANALYST' S CREDENTIALS

Anna Welch Crull, a chemist and long-time private consultant, is experienced in electrochemistry, polymers, membrane materials, and advanced materials. Ms. Crull has worked with BCC, Inc. for 30 years and has authored 100 technical/marketing reports, helped establish 10 technical newsletters, and assisted in numerous special consulting studies for more than 30 corporations and intelligence for the U.S. government. She has worked for the U.S. Army Materials Command on rocket technology, propellants and explosives. She has co-authored several documents with Col. Hooker including an earlier BCC Research report on protective gear and armor. Her specialty is market evaluations and commercialization of new technology. Ms. Crull is a graduate of the School of Engineering, University of Mississippi and holds a Masters Degree in Chemistry from the University of Missouri.

Colonel Dick Hooker (USA, Ret.) was a journalist prior to entering the army as an infantry officer. Col. Hooker spent half of his military career abroad, with European service, three tours in Vietnam, where he commanded an infantry battalion, and then as an intelligence officer and foreign-area specialist with U.S. embassies and military missions in Asia and the Middle East. Col. Hooker was an instructor in the Army' s armor school for several years. He has co-authored global studies on water and wastewater global markets, advanced military battery technology, and fuel cell markets in stationary and transportation applications and on protective gear and armor. A private consultant, Hooker has worked with BCC Research for 7 years, specializing in military applications for advanced technologies. He is a graduate of the School of Liberal Arts, University of Mississippi and attended graduate school at the University of Mississippi and the University of Kansas.