This blog was formed primarily to expose what this author believes to be a false story that two of the worlds largest bearing manufacturers conspired to release as a news story in order to use it in marketing campaigns. Since that first project ended with neither company willing to release any information that could authenticate their story, we moved on to looking at all bearing counterfeiting and how it is reported.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The World's Most Counterfeited Bearing

With all the stories flooding the industry publications and internet sites regarding counterfeit bearing seizures by various customs agencies in numerous countries around the world it has become completely apparent that one brand leads the rest in the number of such instances reported. It stands to reason that the largest bearing manufacturer in the world would also be the most counterfeited brand. If you were a counterfeiter, would you choose to counterfeit a brand that no one had heard of. I don't think that would gain a counterfeiter any advantage. It makes perfect sense that counterfeiters would choose to copy brands with a reputation for quality in order to ride the shirttails of the trademark holder to the market. According to the published published stories on the subject, SKF is the by far most counterfeited bearing on the market and has been for many years. No other brand even runs a close second.

 Here is the problem. Since it has been demonstrated that what SKF recommends as a solution (that is buying from only "authorized" sources) will not protect one from the possibility of receiving counterfeit product (as shown here), the the most prudent thing to do is to avoid altogether purchasing a brand that carries with it such a huge possibility of receiving a fake. This is particularly true since the consequences of receiving even one counterfeit can be so dangerous, if not deadly. More and more bearing users are waking up to this common-sense solution to the problem of counterfeit product: Since it is virtually impossible to determine whether or not a bearing is counterfeit, as bearing manufacturers are claiming, then avoiding heavily counterfeited brands is not only prudent, but an absolute must for those concerned with the safety of their customers. A growing number of bearing users are coming to the realization that what they once considered to be an asset (i.e. name recognition) has turned into a risk that is no longer worth taking.

A little extra time researching lesser-known brands that are never-the-less high quality can virtually eliminate the serious problems raised by the incredibly large numbers of counterfeit  bearings that have infiltrated the marketplace these days.  This will be time well spent, if just for the peace of mind it can produce, not to mention the lives it may save.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

No Answers From Nuremberg Courts

I never was able to get the answers I was seeking from the courthouse in Nuremberg.  I never got the official word on who was the Franconian bearing dealer in the fake story and what the charges were that the dealer was supposedly found guilty, but this is not the last phony story I have run into. It is evident to me that SKF and Schaeffler simply intended to run a vague story, which they believed would help them advance their agenda of convincing bearing consumers that the way to protect themselves from what they have portrayed as massive amounts of counterfeiting is to buy only from authorized distributors.  I have shown in other stories that this offers no protection at all, because the authorized distributors also buy from unauthorized sources.  Anyone who does not know this is naive.  SKF and Schaeffler had the advantage of knowing in advance that the German courts would not release the information about criminal trials (something I find astounding), so they knew their story could neither be authenticated or disproved.  They knew they could run a deceptive story with impunity.

 The World Bearing Association has now joined together bearing manufacturers from The USA, Europe and Japan who have made it their aim to spread as much misinformation as is necessary to convince their customers to purchase only from authorized sources.  I have a better idea. Since well-known brands are being so heavily counterfeited, one should find a quality less-well-known brand to standardize on.  Counterfeiters have no incentive to produce fake copies of less-well-known brands, yet some are of quite high quality.  A customer who takes the time to find these brands can eliminate any possibility of getting a counterfeit. The customer who continues to purchase well-known brands in spite of the huge amount of counterfeiting presently going on (according to these well-known manufacturers) is just tempting fate.  Eventually it will come back to bite him.

View original story:
http://skffaginabs.blogspot.com/2009/03/product-piracy-made-in-germany.html

View my conclusion from my investigation:
http://skffaginabs.blogspot.com/2009/04/schweinfurt-hoax-real-story.html


Saturday, March 31, 2012

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