Product Piracy Can Threaten Lives Watch out for Forgeries!

What looks like a real bargain at first sight can turn out to be a real danger later on. Rolling bearings are safety-relevant products. Bearings for cars, trains or aircraft from INA and FAG are introduced to the market only when they have passed a series of extensive tests and quality inspections. Cheap counterfeits have not undergone such inspections. Inferior materials are used instead of high-grade steel and lubricants. And when it comes to precision and service life, cheap bearings often fail shortly after the running-in stage. At best, the user does not obtain the expected performance. But the consequences can be much worse, including total machine failure and safety threats. Where does danger lurk? Backyard workshops do not inevitably deliver inferior products. Quality certificates are more important than impressively furnished salesrooms. But independent dealers and workshops ¨C in particular in the Middle East and in Asia ¨C often buy large amounts at the rolling bearing bazaars in Damascus, Dubai or Bombay. Junk and cheap forgeries are sold here, manufactured in so-called ¡°flying factories¡±. Company addresses change as often as the forgeries themselves. If the factories are closed down by the state authorities, production will continue at another location on the very next day. How can customers protect themselves? If the counterfeiters are not very particular about the spelling on the packaging or deliberately use similar-sounding product names, products can easily be recognized as forgeries. ¡°Real¡± copies that look exactly like the original are more difficult to identify. In such cases, the packaging resembles the original down to the latest detail and the bearing makes a good outward impression. But there are hidden weaknesses: The raceways have not been hardened. There is no protection against corrosion. Seals and lubricant do not serve their purpose. The manufacturer has used standard steel instead of high-nitride special steel. For this reason customers should pay particular attention to the stamping and compare the catalog numbers. If there is any doubt there is only one recommendation in purchasing or mounting: Hands Off! A recent case of product forgery was uncovered thanks to the cooperation of one of our distribution partners. A customer had turned to the FAG distributor and complained about the failure of several bearing types although he had not bought the bearings at the store. The distribution partner reacted promptly and forwarded the respective bearings to FAG for inspection. The examination report left no doubt: These bearings were forgeries. The folding boxes showed inaccuracies regarding the packaging date, year code and bearing designation. The raceways were poorly ground and the bearing showed an unclean marking punch instead of laser marks. Furthermore, the bearings did not have any lubrication grooves in the outer ring. Obviously the customer had purchased these products on the grey market. With the help of our authorized distribution partner, it has also been possible to track down the illegal dealers who most probably bought the counterfeits in the Far East. Now the matter has gone to court. In conclusion, we strongly recommend you to give preference to our authorized distribution partners or turn directly to a branch or sales office of INA and FAG. Better safe than sorry!