Plant Services - January 2008 - (Page 29) W e who live and work in societies with long, strong histories of industrial responsibility and regulatory compliance are accustomed to choosing freely among a variety of sources for components and replacement parts. “Original” or “factory” parts come from the company that built the machine and are understood to be the same as those used on the production line. Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) components are expected to be made by the company that supplies the factory, and therefore equivalent to factory parts in every way but the name. Aftermarket parts come from a variety of sources and are trusted according to the brands under which they are built or sold. We’ve chosen our parts based on real or perceived quality, value, supplier reputation or support, and suitability for intended purposes. Some prove better than others, but we’ve rarely been surprised by nonfunctioning or dangerous parts. Maybe this is because it traditionally has taken a significant investment in manufacturing equipment and the supply chain to establish a brand, make the parts and bring them to market. That, plus the requirements of certification agencies such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), have largely kept low-quality and non-functional components out of our plants. But not anymore. A growing pain ll Moving beyond Rolex watches, low-quality bolts and brand-name auto parts, counterfeiters are producing fake industrial equipment and components complete with bogus marks, packaging, documentation and certifications. Also creeping into the supply chain are imitations or knockoffs that wear their own brands (or none) but deliberately mimic the appearance of famous-maker products. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC, www.icc.cca.org) estimates that trademark counterfeiting accounts for about 6% of world trade. It’s worth an estimated $350 billion annually, according to the white paper, “The Threat of Counterfeit Product Approval Marks Warrants Aggressive Detection and Enforcement Action,” by a recent alliance between U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, www.osha.gov) and the American Council of Independent Laboratories (ACIL, www.acil.org). “In its mid-year 2005 report, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection division reported that customs seized more than $64 million dollars worth of counterfeit products in 3,693 seizures. Electrical equipment, much of it intended for the U.S. workplace, alone accounted for more than $6 million,” the paper says. “The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC, www.iacc.org) reports the majority of counterfeit products come from Asia, primarily China, and that Eastern Europe also has become a significant source. The manufacture and distribution of counterfeit products has been linked to organized crime. Counterfeit approval marks have been found on electrical products built with substandard materials and exhibiting compromised electrical spacing – both of which pose potential shock and fire hazards to U.S. employees.” Jim Pauley, vice president, industrial and government relations for Schneider Electric (www. us.schneider-electric.com), received a phone call from the U.S. customs office in San Francisco a couple of years ago. “They found a person trying to get through from China with a suitcase full of circuit breakers with our Square D logo and UL labels on them,” Pauley says. “All of them were counterfeit. This has led to several ongoing litigations, and six settled lawsuits, but we think the overall state of the http://www.icc.cca.org http://www.osha.gov http://www.acil.org http://www.iacc.org http://www.us.schneider-electric.com http://www.us.schneider-electric.com
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