Putting PPE into practice: LION EMEA maps 2026 priorities
Iain Hoey
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Anne-Lise Artaud, Marketing Manager for the European, Middle East, Asia and Pacific regions at LION, outlines the company’s 2026 plans across training environments, PPE development, lifecycle support and INTERSCHUTZ
Fire and rescue organisations face increasing pressure to modernise equipment and training while keeping crews protected, compliant and available for response.
Decisions around PPE, training systems and maintenance are now closely linked, particularly as services respond to changing risk profiles and greater scrutiny of firefighter exposure during operations and training.
LION EMEA works across training solutions, EN-certified PPE and lifecycle support through its TotalCare services.
As the company prepares for 2026 and the return of INTERSCHUTZ, it is aligning new product launches with a more connected, operational approach.
IFSJ Editor Iain Hoey spoke with Anne-Lise Artaud, Marketing Manager at LION EMEA, about how the company is preparing for the year ahead.
LION works across training, PPE and service support.
How do these areas connect in practice?
If you only work in one area, you tend to stay within that box.
People often look at turnout gear on its own or training solutions on their own, and those perspectives are not always aligned.
Training is sometimes treated as secondary, even though it has a direct impact on safety, performance and long-term health.
When fire services buy turnout gear, the focus is usually on protection, durability and keeping firefighters safe over time.
With training solutions, the focus is more on preparedness, efficiency and improving decision-making.
These priorities are related but they are not the same, and they are often handled by different people within an organisation.
With our 3-pillar approach (Training Solutions, Protective Equipment (PPE), TotalCare service), LION proposed solutions across all three areas: training, PPE and service support, we can step back and look at the full firefighter journey.
We see how decisions in one area affect another and how equipment, training environments and maintenance interact over time.
That broader view helps us understand what customers want, why they want it and how different choices connect.
A clear example is the link between training environments and PPE.
In some training centres, firefighters may be exposed to high heat more frequently than during real incidents, depending on the types of interventions they attend.
Because we work closely with both training facilities and PPE, we see those patterns more often and understand how they affect equipment performance and firefighter safety over time.
Bringing these areas together helps ensure training, PPE and service support are connected in a practical, operational way.
What are LION EMEA’s main priorities and activities for 2026?
2026 is a very important year for us, particularly with the return of INTERSCHUTZ.
After the disruption of recent years, being back at the event is significant.
It is an opportunity to show where we are as a company, how the portfolio has evolved and what we are focusing on going forward.
Beyond INTERSCHUTZ itself, several priorities are shaping our plans.
One is health and safety for firefighters, trainers and trainees.
The challenge is balancing realistic training with protecting health over the short term and across an entire career.
On the training side, we are focusing on healthier ways to train, reducing unnecessary exposure while maintaining realism.
That means looking closely at wood burning, gas consumption and how training environments are designed and operated.
Another priority is PPE.
We are re-entering the European market with our own EN-certified turnout gear.
This is something we have been working towards for some time, and we are now at the point where the gear is in stock and customers are actively testing it through pilot programmes.
For the LION Group globally, this completes an important part of the overall portfolio.
2026 is about increasing momentum, getting the gear in front of more fire services and continuing development in close collaboration with firefighters and first responders.
TotalCare support activities are last but not least.
In Europe, we decided to deliver through qualified and recognized partners new services like PPE cleaning or training solution rentals.
When we supply turnout gear, we want to ensure access to proper care, inspection and long-term support.
Across training solutions, PPE and TotalCare, the focus for 2026 is clarity and visibility, showing how these elements form a connected approach that supports health, safety and operational needs.
What training solutions is LION developing for the coming year?
There are a couple of strands to what we are working on.
One sits in the digital space.
We are working seriously on virtual and augmented reality-based training solutions.
Development is still ongoing, so it is too early to share specifics, but the intention is to bring something genuinely new to the market rather than small updates to existing tools.
INTERSCHUTZ would be a natural point to continue that conversation and demonstrate where this work is heading.
Alongside that, there is a strong focus on training around the equipment customers already have.
We see a real need for more structured guidance on how to use training equipment, training centres and PPE as effectively as possible.
This includes practical advice on operating smoke generators, getting the best performance from training facilities and using equipment in ways that support consistent, high-quality training outcomes.
How is LION approaching PPE development?
We have redesigned a dedicated PPE range called ENgage®.
It includes three structural firefighting models, the LION® ENgage® Ultra™ Edition, the LION® ENgage® Select™ and LION® ENgage® Classic™, plus one wildland model.
Together, they cover a range of operational needs within a single PPE family.
In developing ENgage®, we drew heavily on the experience of our US team, particularly their knowledge of NFPA requirements and PPE design.
That input helped inform decisions around fabrics, construction and performance.
We also applied what we have learned about the expectations of European fire services and worked with high-quality suppliers to ensure all components work effectively together through testing and iteration.
One area where we have taken a different approach is availability.
ENgage® is a stock line, so it is available immediately rather than being fully custom-built from the outset.
This shortens lead times and allows fire services to access certified PPE quickly, whether to fill an unexpected gap or to trial equipment before making longer-term decisions.
Producing a stock range also allows efficiencies that support affordability while maintaining quality and certification standards.
How would you explain the scope of LION’s TotalCare offering?
TotalCare is a broad offering, and one of our priorities this year is to explain it more clearly, because it covers several distinct but connected areas.
It exists to support fire and rescue organisations beyond the initial purchase, ensuring equipment remains effective, compliant and usable over time.
At LION EMEA, TotalCare is structured around several elements.
One focuses on PPE lifecycle management, covering inspection, cleaning, repair and replacement.
In Europe, this is delivered through specialist partners using advanced cleaning and repair processes.
The emphasis is on extending the life of PPE while maintaining performance and compliance.
Another element is maintenance and service support for training solutions, from individual smoke generators through to complete training centres.
Like any technical system, these assets require regular servicing and upkeep to remain reliable.
There is also a training component, which is not about teaching people how to become firefighters.
It focuses on helping firefighters, trainers and instructors use PPE, training systems and facilities effectively.
Fire behaviour and training environments vary, and our role is to support the technical side and help customers optimise how they use the equipment they already have.
A further element relates to acquisition and financing models.
In some cases, buying specialist equipment outright does not make sense.
TotalCare includes options such as rental and leasing, allowing access to equipment when needed without long-term ownership, maintenance and storage costs.
This flexibility reflects how training needs and operational risks continue to change.
Last elements of TotalCare is when fire and rescue services plan the creation of a training centre, LION provides consultancy as part of TotalCare to support informed decision-making.
This includes needs assessment, site and layout studies, selection of appropriate training systems, safety and compliance guidance, and long-term operational planning.
The objective is to help organizations develop training facilities that are effective, safe, and sustainable over time.
What role do major events like INTERSCHUTZ play for LION EMEA?
INTERSCHUTZ is about visibility and reconnection.
After such a long gap, it is an opportunity to clearly restate who we are, what we do and how the different parts of our portfolio connect.
It is also about relationships.
The event allows face-to-face conversations with partners and customers that are difficult to replicate online.
This year, our intention is to be very present, both inside and outside the exhibition space.
INTERSCHUTZ gives us the right platform to bring training solutions, PPE and services together in one place and demonstrate how they connect.
Looking ahead, how do you see LION EMEA’s role as risks and expectations change?
At its core, LION’s role is to support first responders.
We contribute by providing the tools, knowledge and support that help fire and rescue services adapt to new ways of working and respond to changing risks.
Our role is to help facilitate change, whether that means supporting research and innovation or making it easier for fire services to adopt new approaches in practice.
We are not doing that alone, but we do see it as our responsibility to contribute and to support that direction.
Ultimately, everything we do is intended to support firefighters in their daily work, reduce unnecessary complexity and help them feel prepared and confident in increasingly demanding environments.
That purpose has been part of the company since it began more than a century ago, and it continues to define our role going forward.