The Middle East fire protection market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.2 per cent from a market size of $2.21 billion in 2015 to $4.40 billion in 2021, a report said.
According to the study titled “The Middle East Fire Protection Market, Forecast to 2021” by Frost & Sullivan, the market is witnessing double-digit growth, driven by growing construction activities, technology innovation, and accelerated fire protection expenditure by institutions and enterprises. Implementation of unified building codes across all end-user segments mandated by local authorities has further pushed the demand for fire protection products in the region. The fiercely competitive market has forced suppliers to embrace smart, integrated, digitally intelligent devices and solutions; collaborate with industry stakeholders; and become top product service quality providers.
Integrated and intelligent fire systems that sense, detect and prevent will usher in accelerated growth, the report said. As end-user landscape and building dynamics are constantly changing, consumers demand technologically advanced but cost-effective products, leading to a shift from the traditional reactive-based suppression solution toward a more active detection module. New age intelligent fire systems offer integrated solutions by linking with equipment in the vicinity; sensing, gathering and analysing data from the environment; and ringing the alarms to a possible fire. Consumers are aware of damage caused by fire and demand advanced products that prevent fire from catching and spreading, thereby minimising loss, it added.
“Participants should look toward untapped opportunities in retrofitting buildings and critical infrastructure with intelligent and integrated fire protection systems that analyse and sense the environment,” said automatic identification and security research analyst Sagarina Rai. “Rising interest and investment in smart and safe city initiatives in the UAE, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi will further boost demand for fire protection products.”
“The biggest challenge for the fire protection systems market in the Middle East remains heavy research and development (R&D) cost to design fire detection equipment and suppression systems for each industrial vertical. Furthermore, as the region faces extreme weather conditions, designing and manufacturing geography-specific fire protection systems increases R&D expenditure and makes market entry difficult for new participants,” said Rai.
“While manufacturers are committed to acquiring the latest technology and adding new features, innovations in manufacturing technology can help reduce product costs and lead to greater adoption, providing a boost to market growth.”
Some of the major players in the sector are: Tyco, UTC, Naafco, SFFECO, Honeywell International, Siemens, GSS Systems, and Fike.
