Company - 22/05/2019
Seizure of Fake Bearing Packaging in China Continues NSK's Fight Against Counterfeiting
The quest to stop fake bearings continues for NSK. The most recent seizure of counterfeit NSK packaging and labels occured in Hebei Province, China. This seizure demonstarted the scale of the problem with more than 23,000 fake boxes and cartons confiscated pending further investigation and potential prosecution, were discovered in Linxi County, Xintai City.
Koichi Uchida, Manager of NSK’s GAM-IMBD department and member of JBIA (Japan Bearing Industry Association) and WBA (World Bearing Association), works closely with local authorities around the world to enforce law and order on counterfeiters. His aim is to protect NSK’s reputation and brand from being misrepresented in the bearing market.
NSK has been established for over 100 years and is recognized around the world for manufacturing high quality and reliable bearing products that are used in many different industries, including automotive. For this reason, NSK has become a target brand for counterfeiters.
Dishonorable traders who sell fake bearings not only put their own businesses at risk – by sourcing and selling inferior quality bearings – but also put at risk innocent end users, who unknowingly buy these products with the belief they are getting “the real deal” at a reduced price. These bearings have the potential to fail prematurely, even catastrophically, thus presenting an inherent safety risk. In turn, there is a significant negative effect on the brand image of NSK.
The challenge of catching counterfeiters, especially in countries like China, is a time-intensive, high-cost exercise. However, NSK continues undeterred in its pursuit of these disingenuous operations. The latest success in Hebei arrived with the assistance of an investigator and Chinese government officials. Contained within the counterfeit store was a large quantity of fake, premium-brand bearing packaging, located either on shelves, inside woven bags or simply stacked on the floor. Additionally there were inkjet printers and people producing counterfeit cartons on site. When questioned about the seized bearing packages, the owner of the business admitted that all were fake.
Although the seizure in China was an important strike against the fake bearings industry, it unfortunately only represents a very small proportion of what is believed to be present in the global market. As a consequence, NSK and the team of Mr Uchida will continue fighting to protect the company’s brand image and integrity.
More information about the fake bearings industry can be found at www.stopfakebearings.com. This website is overseen by the WBA and serves as both an awareness and educational platform, helping bearing users become more aware and informed consumers. The site stresses the importance of only dealing with authorized and trusted sources. For a full listing of Authorized NSK distributors please access our Distributor Finder.
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