LEADER develops and manufactures firefighting and rescue equipment such as branch pipes, ventilation fans, thermal imaging cameras and USAR systems.

LEADER (Groupe Leader / LEADER S.A.S.)

Octeville-sur-Mer (FR) · Villach (AT)New on Amplifa

1986Founded

>80Employees (LEADER S.A.S.)

2Sites (France, Austria)

1999ISO 9001 certified since

17Export countries for Leader WASP

About LEADER

LEADER (LEADER S.A.S., part of the LEADER GROUP) develops, manufactures and distributes firefighting and rescue equipment for fire departments, civil protection, marine/navy, at-risk industries and aid organizations. The portfolio includes branch pipes, mobile water cannons, high-performance fans (including battery-powered fans of the BATFAN series), foam proportioning systems, thermal imaging cameras (LEADER TIC), locating and search devices for USAR operations as well as stability monitoring devices such as Leader SENTRY and Leader WASP. The offering is complemented by live-fire training equipment such as fire training simulators, training fire extinguishers and fog machines as well as ATEX equipment for explosive atmospheres. According to the company, all products are designed, manufactured and tested in its own workshops; dedicated test infrastructures are available at the headquarters in Octeville-sur-Mer, including a 400 m² water/foam test hall and a 400 m² ventilation test hall. At the Villach site in Austria, the subsidiary LEADER PHOTONICS (formerly Active Photonics) manufactures thermal imaging cameras. Distribution takes place via a global dealer network; the company has been ISO 9001 certified since 1999.

Site: Octeville-sur-Mer
Processes: Development and manufacturing of firefighting and rescue equipment (branch pipes, water cannons,, Development and manufacturing of thermal imaging cameras (LEADER PHOTONICS, Villach), Training/education (fire training simulators, training fire extinguishers, fog machines), Technical support and after-sales service, Customer training on device use, Own inspection and test infrastructure (water/foam test hall 400 m², ventilation test hall 400 m²,, Distribution via global dealer network
Materials: Aluminium, Composite material, Lithium, Lithium-ion battery
Certificates: ISO 9001
Founded: 1986
Employees: >80 (LEADER S.A.S.)
Industries: Firefighting/fire suppression, Civil protection/Sécurité Civile, USAR (Urban Search and Rescue), Marine/Navy, At-risk industries, NGOs/aid organizations

01
Development and design
02
In-house manufacturing
03
Testing in own test infrastructure
04
Customer training
05
After-sales service
06
Distribution via global dealer network

Materials & Processes

Alu

Aluminium

Material for branch pipes and portable equipment with low weight and corrosion resistance.

Comp

Composite material

Alternative material for branch pipes, tailored to the requirements of various firefighting operations.

Li-Ion

Lithium-ion battery

Swappable battery technology for autonomous devices such as the BATFAN fans.

Sites

Octeville-sur-Mer

Headquarters, development, production, testing

Materials: Aluminium, composite material, lithium-ion batteries

Water/foam test hall (400 m²)
Ventilation test hall (400 m²)
Victim search laboratory
Container test area

Villach

LEADER PHOTONICS – development and manufacturing of thermal imaging cameras

Products & Components

**BATFAN 2 – battery-powered high-performance fan**Device manufacturing · Firefighting/fire suppression

**ATEX fan**Device manufacturing · Explosion protection/industry

**High-performance fan (NEO concept)**Device manufacturing · Firefighting/fire suppression

**LEADER PHOTONICS thermal imaging camera**Electronics manufacturing · Firefighting/rescue

Inside the production

Delivered BATFAN fans at the Voluntary Fire Department Rot

Industries

Firefighting/fire suppressionCivil protection/Sécurité CivileUSAR (Urban Search and Rescue)Marine/NavyAt-risk industriesNGOs/aid organizationsTraining/fire protection training

Processes & technical limits

Processes	Tolerance	Max. part	Weight	Lot size	Materials
Development and manufacturing of firefighting and rescue equipment (branch pipes, water cannons,Engineering	–	–	–	–	Aluminium, Composite material, Lithium-ion batteries
Development and manufacturing of thermal imaging cameras (LEADER PHOTONICS, Villach)Engineering	–	–	–	–	–

Additional services

Training/education (fire training simulators, training fire extinguishers, fog machines)Technical support and after-sales serviceCustomer training on device useOwn inspection and test infrastructure (water/foam test hall 400 m², ventilation test hall 400 m²,Distribution via global dealer network

Reference customers

THW local branch KelheimVoluntary Fire Department RotEstonian Rescue BoardUSAR team Bogotá (Colombia)USAR team Pasto (Colombia)ERICAM (Spain)Fire department USAR Cuenca (Ecuador)London Fire Brigade (WASP deployment after Grenfell Tower)

Quality

According to the company, all products are designed, manufactured and tested in its own workshops; dedicated inspection and test infrastructures (including water/foam and ventilation test halls) are available at the headquarters. LEADER has been ISO 9001 certified since 1999.

Evidence	Octeville-sur-Mer	Villach
ISO 9001

History

1986
Founding of LEADER; since then development, manufacture and distribution of firefighting and rescue equipment.
1999
ISO 9001 certification.
2016
Acquisition of Active Photonics (Villach, Austria), a company specialized in thermal imaging cameras, on 19.02.2016; renaming to LEADER PHOTONICS.
2019
Acquisition of WASP (stability monitoring device, inventor Matt Keogh); production relocated to France.
2021
Participation in the Florian trade fair in Dresden.
2026
LEADER GROUP celebrates its 40th anniversary; joint booth with BIOEX, CET and Mercedes Textiles at the Mondial Secours et Protection.