As a part of SKF India’s commitment to offer genuine and reliable products to its customers, the company supported police authorities during the enforcement actions in Pune city on Monday – April 3, 2017 and seized about four and half thousand counterfeit products estimated to be worth around INR 6 million, leading to the arrest of those involved in the counterfeiting.
The problem of counterfeit bearings has become more widespread in recent years and all markets are now susceptible to receiving these unpredictable quality products of all brands unknowingly. A bearing is a safety critical spare part and a bearing failure could lead to damage to the machinery and costly loss of production. Counterfeit bearings in e.g. a public utility operation such as power generators could result in major consequences for the general public.
Addressing the media, Shishir Joshipura, Managing Director and Country Head, SKF India, said, “At SKF, the fight against the sale of counterfeit products is of utmost priority. Being a customer centric organization, SKF will continue to protect our customers’ interest in the best possible way.”
Tina Astrom, Director, SKF Group Brand Protection, said, “Counterfeit products are often associated with established brands across the globe. Although the sale of counterfeit bearings is a problem in India, Indian law enforcement is professional in their actions against counterfeiters.”
Being an industry leader, SKF has taken the initiative to offer free of charge verification support to customers. Customers who want to check the authenticity of their purchases could email photos together with information of their supplier to genuine@skf.com. SKF responds on a 24X7 basis and normally respond within a few hours. An alternative is to use the ‘Authenticate’ App, which is available for free at Google Play or iPhone Appstore.
Best way to safeguard authenticity is to source from Distributors authorized by SKF. SKF shows no tolerance against actors cheating customers with counterfeit products and will continue our support to enforcement authorities that work hard to keep counterfeit bearings away from the market.
SKF
www.skf.com
