The SKF brand is associated with impeccable engineering and superior quality.
That is why one of SKF’s key global customers did not hesitate to call senior application engineer, Darren Chetty, when two of the plants experienced persistent early failures of large sized bearings (LSBs).
“I visited the site, inspected the store and determined that the supposedly SKF branded LSBs were in fact not SKF bearings and immediately quarantined them,” says Chetty. An intensive legal process was initiated and an internal investigation by the customer’s legal department revealed the source of the bearings.
Chetty says that the potentially disastrous consequences of using counterfeit products and the damage they can do to expensive equipment cannot be over emphasised. He lists a few reasons for the premature failure of the counterfeit LSBs: The bearings were not designed to SKF standards; the design was vastly inferior; and the manufacturing of the bearings and components was substandard.
SKF is now investigating a case of infringement and misuse of the SKF brand while the customer’s legal department is continuing internal investigations into the purchase of counterfeit LSBs from an unregistered vendor.
According to Chetty, counterfeit products always present problems for companies that supply only OE products. The logos and the packaging are often so well reproduced that even experienced suppliers have difficulty in spotting counterfeit products. However he says that industry is becoming increasingly aware of grey products and SKF’s customers are quick to call when premature bearing failures persist and the product does not perform to the customer’s expectations of SKF’s rotating equipment. “We are determined to stamp out the scourge of counterfeit products and SKF enjoys the full cooperation of industry, customers and law enforcement agencies to deal with the problem,” he concludes.
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