by NR INDRAN / INT

Mumbai: Fire protection, security and building automation is a growing business in India and we expect it to continue to remain so for a long time, with the rapid globalization of our economy and strong focus of Government of India on development of infrastructure.

Fire Protection Systems: Fire leaves not only a large scale destruction in its wake, but also causes loss of life. A majority of deaths in the fire are caused due to inhalation of toxic smoke and lethal gases like carbon monoxide, acrolein (through burning of wood and paper), cyanides (burning of polyurethane), hydrogen chloride gas (burning of PVC) etc. This makes fire protection an important activity for human life. Stress is not on putting out the fire, but to detect it and suppress it at incipient stage itself.

In India the fire protection market is dominated by a large number of unorganized players. As per the rough estimates the market for fire fighting systems in India is approximately ` 150 bn.

End user segments for fire extinguishing business in India are as follows:

Sector Proportion

Information Technology and Banking 30%

Manufacturing 30%

Petrochemicals 15%

Other Commercial Establishments 10%

Others 15%

Source: Company RHP

Electronic Security Systems: Electronic Security devices involve active beams, microwave detectors,

CCTV etc. The industry consists of entities engaged in selling, installing and maintaining security systems. It also provides security monitoring services. Industry can be broadly divided in organized and unorganized players. The players in organized sector have been successful to cater to the security needs, by introducing new and innovative solutions, while the unorganized sector is satisfying the demand through standalone products.

The major companies engaged in producing security equipment include Godrej & Boyace, Steelage

Industries Ltd, Zicom Electronic Security Systems Ltd, IPSS, Philips, Keltronand Bergen. Many Indian

companies have collaborated with foreign manufacturers and are marketing foreign products in India.

The home electronic security in India is still at a nascent stage. There has been a positive shift in the

perception of people towards the need of security system, with the rising negative circumstances.

Intelligent Building Management Systems (IBMS): IBMS are used in commercial buildings such as

malls, offices etc. to achieve efficiency and cost savings. Various utilities in a building such as climate

control, chillers, cooling towers, air handling units, DG sets, electrical management systems, water

management, lifts, security systems and fire protection systems talk to each other on a single unified

platform through IBMS, thus automating the building. Following are the advantages of IBMS:

• Reduces dependency on human factor, enhances the safety

• Cost savings due to minimal wastage of energy

Major players for IBMS are Siemens, Honeywell India, Johnson Controls India Pvt. Ltd., DATS India Pvt. Ltd. etc.

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