Top 5 Fire Retardant Reflective Tape Manufacturers in Europe

In high-risk environments such as modern industry, transportation, firefighting, and mining, personal protective equipment (PPE) is not just a "work suit", but a key barrier closely related to life safety. As one of the core functional materials in protective clothing, flame-retardant reflective tape has dual protective functions - on the one hand, it has high reflective brightness, which can significantly improve the wearer's visibility in low light or at night, and on the other hand, it has flame-retardant properties, which can inhibit the spread of flames and reduce the risk of injury even in dangerous situations such as sudden fire sources and high temperatures.

With the continuous tightening of global safety regulations, especially the high standards enforced by EU countries for industries such as firefighting, electricity, and railways, the selection of flame retardant reflective tapes and the qualifications of suppliers are particularly important. Traditional European manufacturers have long occupied the high-end market with their technical depth and first-mover advantage in standards. In recent years, Asian manufacturing power has gradually risen, especially Chinese manufacturers represented by YSM, which have gradually broken through technical barriers and entered the global procurement chain through high-quality product quality and international certification systems.

Global Standards and Testing and Certification Systems for Flame Retardant Reflective Tapes

When choosing fire retardant reflective tapes, you should first understand which international standards and testing and certification systems they comply with. The following are the standard systems that are currently widely accepted worldwide:

EN 469: European fire protection clothing standard
This standard is the core regulation of the fire protection industry, which stipulates that clothing materials must have flame retardancy, thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, etc. Among them, the reflective strip part must also pass the flame retardancy test, including the vertical burning test (Flame Spread Test), etc.

EN ISO 20471: High Visibility Clothing Standard
Widely used in railways, construction, power and other industries, reflective tapes must have high brightness (≥330 cd/lx/m² when tested with white light) and can maintain performance after multiple washings.

ISO 14116 / ISO 11612: Flame Retardant Fabric Standard
Applicable to general protective clothing, requiring the webbing to not drip when exposed to a fire source, and the continuous burning time to be less than a certain number of seconds, and also has indicators for thermal radiation conduction.

US NFPA 1971: Firefighters' protective clothing specifications
It is slightly different from the European standard, but it also attaches great importance to the integration of flame retardancy and reflectivity.

Common certification agencies:

• TÜV Rheinland (German Technical Supervision Association): known for precision and fairness
• SGS (Swiss General Notary Office): Global leader in testing and certification
• OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100: Ensure that the fabric does not contain substances harmful to the human body
• AITEX (Spain): Focus on technical textile performance testing

Understanding these standards can not only help buyers formulate procurement requirements, but also serve as an important basis for judging whether the supplier is professional.

In-depth analysis of the world's top five flame-retardant reflective tape manufacturers

3M UK

As a benchmark brand for global reflective materials, 3M's Scotchlite reflective materials have been widely used in the European and American firefighting and transportation industries as early as the last century. Its flame-retardant reflective tape is based on two reflective technologies, microprisms and glass microbeads, combined with fire-resistant fabric substrates. The product is applicable to many international standards such as EN 469 and NFPA 1971.

In the UK and European markets, 3M reflective tape is used in police and fire uniforms, railway construction clothing, highway maintenance clothing and other fields. Its advantages are not only technological leadership, but also rigorous product testing processes and systematic after-sales support.

Orafol Europe GmbH

Orafol is a polymer material expert headquartered in Oranienburg, Germany, known for its precision coating technology. Its flame-retardant reflective tape product line is designed for industrial protection and use in high-temperature environments. It features a multi-layer coating structure with high reflectivity, high wear resistance, flame retardancy, and water-resistant properties.

Orafol's products have obtained multiple certifications such as EN 20471 and EN 469, and have passed REACH and RoHS environmental compliance standards, making them particularly suitable for export to the EU's high-standard market. Its flame-retardant reflective tape is widely used in Deutsche Bahn (DB), the Fire Department, and heavy industrial protection companies.

Delcros by Saint-Gobain

Delcros is a functional tape brand under the well-known French material company Saint-Gobain, focusing on the research and development and manufacturing of high-performance reflective tapes. Its products are known for their multifunctional composite structures, which can meet the application needs of safety clothing in extreme environments such as high temperature, high friction, and high humidity.

Delcros flame-retardant reflective tape is mainly exported to the southern European and North African markets, serving the petrochemical, aviation maintenance, power repair and other industries. Its technical core lies in using aramid fabric as the base material and adding a high-temperature-resistant polyester film layer between the reflective layer and the adhesive layer to improve the overall service life.

TenCate Protective Fabrics

TenCate is from the Netherlands and is a world-renowned manufacturer of flame-retardant fabrics and high-functional clothing materials. Its reflective tapes are mostly integrated with its own flame-retardant fabrics and have a high market share in the global fire protection, military and police and high-end industrial fields.

TenCate's flame-retardant reflective tape has excellent breathability, comfort and composite properties, and is widely used in railway nursing uniforms, special forces combat training uniforms, explosion-proof work uniforms, etc. The brand emphasizes "comfort and safety", and its production process strictly controls temperature stability, chemical residues and surface adhesion.

YSM (China) - Asia's leading reflective material manufacturer

As one of the pioneers in China's reflective material field, YSM has been deeply involved in the flame-retardant reflective tape market for more than 20 years. The company focuses on the research and development and mass production of webbing and film products for high visibility and high flame retardant requirements, and has a complete set of process chains and quality control systems.

The main advantages are as follows:

• Material diversity: YSM products cover a variety of flame-retardant substrates such as polyester-cotton base fabrics, aramid blended fabrics, anti-static fabrics, etc., which are suitable for wearing needs in different fields.
• Complete certifications: The products have passed OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, TÜV flame retardant test, REACH, ROHS and other international authoritative certifications, which can meet the compliance requirements of exports to Europe.
• Strong customization capabilities: The width is optional from 0.5cm to 10cm, supporting customized pattern printing, bonding base fabric type, reflective layer color (silver gray, yellow, orange), etc.
• Wide customer base: YSM has established long-term cooperative relations with fire suit manufacturers, railway suit companies, oil companies, etc. in Europe, South America and the Middle East. Its products are used in Deutsche Bahn work clothes, Petrobras uniforms, and Italian police and fire training uniforms.
• High production reliability: The company has multiple high-speed coating and laminating production lines with a monthly delivery capacity of one million meters. Each batch of products is accompanied by a detailed test report and traceability number to ensure quality consistency.

The rise of YSM not only reflects the overall upgrade of Asian manufacturing, but also provides global buyers with a supply option with better cost-effectiveness but no compromise in standards.

How to choose flame-retardant reflective tape according to industry needs: from performance to practical suggestions

When purchasing high-quality flame-retardant reflective tape, you should not only look at the quotation, but also comprehensively evaluate the performance, durability and actual adaptability. The following are specific suggestions:

Matching industry standard requirements

Different use environments need to meet different standards:

• Firefighter suits → EN 469 + EN ISO 14116
• Railway/airport nursing uniforms → EN ISO 20471 + OEKO-TEX®
• Electric maintenance uniforms → Flame retardant + antistatic mixed fabrics, which must meet both EN and US standards

Analysis of technical parameter elements

• Reflective brightness: ≥420 cd/lx·㎡ (silver-gray micro glass beads)
• Flame retardant performance: vertical burning test extinguishes in 3 seconds, no dripping, no afterburning
• Peel strength: ≥2.5N/cm, ensuring that the fit is not easy to fall off
• Water resistance: 50 home washing cycles do not affect reflectivity/flame retardancy

Five-step procurement verification method

• Request samples and conduct own scene tests
• Require complete technical data sheets and copies of third-party certifications
• Check whether there is EN 469 or ISO 20471 designated number
• Understand the production delivery and return policy
• Ensure that the product has a batch traceability system

As part of "life equipment", flame retardant reflective tape is more than a simple strip. It is related to whether it can be discovered in the first time in an emergency, whether it can resist sudden fire damage, and whether it can maintain stable performance without falling off. These key factors determine that manufacturers must have reliable technology, mature quality systems and clear standards compliance paths.

The five manufacturers introduced in this article - 3M UK, Orafol, Delcros, TenCate in Europe, and YSM in Asia, all have international vision and high professional capabilities. Among them, YSM has successfully benchmarked European standards as an Asian manufacturer and has become a supply partner for more and more international brands.