The safety division develops, produces and markets products, system solutions and services for personal protection, gas detection technology and integrated hazard management. Its customers come from industry, mining and public sectors such as fire departments, police and disaster protection.

Of the 4,336 people employed by the division worldwide (December 31, 2009), 49.2 percent work in sales, marketing and service, 37.1 percent in production, quality assurance, logistics and procurement, 6.2 percent in research and development, and 7.5 percent in administration.

The companies with the highest local net sales are in Germany, the US, France, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia and Singapore. The safety division produces in Lübeck as well as in the US (Pittsburgh), China (Beijing), the UK (Blyth), Sweden (Svenljunga), Brazil (São Paulo), the Czech Republic (Chomutov) and South Africa (King William’s Town).

The division is represented in around 100 countries on all continents and has sales and service subsidiaries in over 30 countries.

The global economic crisis has had a major impact on market developments in this division as well. Many of the Company’s industrial customers, such as the steel, automotive, supplying and engineering industries, struggled with severe fluctuations in demand. As a result, demand for safety products for these industries was restrained or even declining. The economic stimulus packages issued by governments could only partly offset this trend. Total demand from public sector customers, on the other hand, was slightly up. Purchases in H1N1 protection gave demand in personal protection equipment a boost. The market environment in which the safety division operates continued to see a high level of competition and continuing consolidation.

The volume of the markets relevant to the safety division amounted to around EUR 5 billion, almost the same as in the prior year.

According to own estimates Dräger is regarded as the market leader in the field of mobile and stationary gas detection products and diagnostics (alcohol and drug detection systems). In the other business fields, the safety division counts, also according to own estimates, among the leading providers.

Demand in the safety technology market in 2010 is still going to be marked by the aftermath of the economic and financial crisis, as several industry sectors suffered strong downturns. The chemical and petrochemical industry is going through structural changes. A study by auditing firm KPMG shows that a shift of production facilities from the typical industrial countries to the Middle East may occur in future, therefore positively developing the added value of oil-producing countries and increasingly strong markets such as India and China. The metal and steel industry is facing similar problems. According to the German Financial Times, steel production in industrial countries is decreasing considerably, while it is increasing significantly in emerging countries. In other industry sectors (e.g. pharmaceutical and food industries), demand is on the up after the crisis year 2009, albeit only to some degree. In 2010, demand for fire fighting equipment is going to develop differently in individual regions. The US has been running an aid program for first responders and fire services since 2001. In 2010 however, federal budgets for fire services are more than likely going to fall significantly below the average figures of prior years. China, on the other hand, is trying to improve its situation considerably, although this will be at a lower level than in the US. In comparison, German fire services are suffering from restricted municipal funding, which is going to result in lower demand. It is difficult to forecast developments for the entire fiscal year, even in view of the varying influential factors.