Sprinkler Usage Sets New Record of 117 Million in 2007

In 2006, for the first time in history, the International Fire Sprinkler Association estimated that annual installation of fire sprinklers exceeded 100 million. This important threshold appears to have been surpassed substantially in 2007 based on the annual IFSA world market survey, with an estimated total of 117.3 million fire sprinklers installed. The survey was conducted by asking knowledgeable individuals to provide their best estimate of sprinkler usage around the world, weighting the opinions based on the confidence level of the submitter. The survey was based on 25 individual geographical areas, and growth was estimated in 17 of the 25 areas.

Despite the fact that more than 50 million sprinklers were installed in North America for the first time, the percentage of sprinklers installed in the North American fire sprinkler market dropped substantially, from 49 percent to 43 percent. The number and percentage of sprinklers used increased substantially in China, which was completing a great deal of construction in advance of the 2008 Olympic games.

The total estimated sprinkler usage by continent is shown below, with the totals compared to the estimates from 2005 and 2006 (all numbers in millions):

	2005 Estimate	2006 Estimate	2007 Estimate
North America	44.2     (50%)	49.4     (49%)	50.2     (43%)
Asia and Pacific	26.7     (30%)	31.7     (31%)	44.0     (37%)
Europe and Mideast	14.0     (16%)	15.7     (16%)	19.1     (16%)
Central and South America	0.9      (1%)	1.0      (1%)	1.7      (1.5%)
Australia/NZ	1.6      (2%)	1.7      (2%)	1.7      (1.5%)
Africa	0.7      (1%)	0.6      (1%)	0.6      (0.5%)
	88.1	100.1	117.3
Geographic Area	2005 Estimate	2006 Estimate	2007 Estimate	2007 Totals by continent
1. Canada	3.4	3.6	3.9
2. Mexico	0.5	0.5	0.8
3. United States	40.3	45.3	45.5	50.2
4.  Central America (inc. Carib.)	0.3	0.3	0.3
5.  South America	0.6	0.7	1.4	1.7
6.  United Kingdom and Ireland	2.0	2.0	2.2
7.  Germany	2.2	2.5	2.8
8.  France	1.4	1.5	1.6
9.  Scandinavian Countries     (Nor., Swe., Den., Fin. and Ice.)	1.1	1.2	1.4
10. Italy	0.7	0.9	0.9
11. Low Countries      (Belg., Neth., and Lux.)	1.1	1.2	1.3
12. Austria and Switzerland	0.6	0.7	0.7
13. Spain and Portugal	1.1	1.1	1.2
14. Russia, Belarus and Ukraine	1.0	1.6	2.5
15. Israel	0.9	0.8	0.7
16. Other European / Mid-East	1.9	2.2	3.8	19.1
17. China (inc. Hong Kong)	15.0	18.5	29.5
18. Japan	3.0	3.1	3.1
19. Korea	4.8	5.6	6.6
20. Singapore and Malaysia	1.3	1.4	1.5
21. Taiwan	0.8	0.9	1.0
22. Other Asian and Pacific	1.8	2.2	2.3	44.0
23. Africa (inc. Egypt)	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.6
24. Australia	1.2	1.3	1.3
25. New Zealand	0.4	0.4	0.4	1.7
2007 World Total (millions)				117.3