Counting the cost of counterfeits

If you already have a bad feeling about that critical bearing you replaced with a cheaper equivalent just a couple of weeks ago, just imagine if you had to replace it again next week. Can you really afford not to check now?

From bearings to power transmissions, counterfeit and low quality, unfit-for-purpose products are here in the market place, perhaps on your stores’ shelves, and maybe even in your machines. And even if you can’t tell the difference, your machine certainly can.

Counterfeit components are now cropping up everywhere from steel mills to container ships, and from petrochemical plants to F1 race cars. They may look like the real thing, they may be cheap, but the only thing you can be sure of is that they will fail sooner rather than later, be more expensive in the long-run, and could even cause serious damage or risk to life and limb.

Formula One racing driver Mika Häkkinen knows the price of a counterfeit bearing.
For him, it cost him a race. Having been in the lead at the San Marino Grand Prix, he was forced to retire early with car problems. The fault was traced to a ball bearing which on closer examination proved to be counterfeit, and manufactured to a lower quality than specification which simply couldn’t withstand the stresses of high-speed racing.

At the other end of the scale in terms of speed, counterfeit bearings also caused major problems for a container ship when its generator underwent repair. After the maintenance, the generator operated for just 14 hours before vibrations became so severe that it had to be shut down. Again, close inspection revealed that a replacement bearing fitted during maintenance was the problem.

Presumably, in both cases, the bearing in question had been bought in good faith. However many other poor quality, below spec. products are bought, not in the
belief that they are the genuine article, but in the belief they will save money because they are cheap. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Many low-cost products may look like the real thing, but the similarity is only skin deep. The materials used are often of a much poorer quality than required for their operating environment. The engineering tolerances may be much less rigorous, so they fail to fit accurately or perform as they should. The standard of finish may fall far short of what’s required, so they actually end up damaging other parts with which they come into contact during operation. And when you add all these factors together, these parts will often fail within weeks, or even days, when their design life should be months.

So any cost-saving on the initial purchase price is soon wiped out by the cost of early repeat purchase, not to mention the costs of lost production, downtime, and possible knock-on machinery damage.

Of course, if a genuine part fails before it should, a reputable supplier will help its customers to discuss and resolve the issue with the manufacturer. However with a cheap substitute product or a counterfeit, there is not only no warranty worth the paper it’s written on, but if you try to take matters up with the supplier you’ll get very little help or support – if any. It really is a case of buyer beware and – 99 times out of 100 – buyer lose out.

So if you don’t want to waste your money or risk your equipment buying cheap, the solution is obvious: always buy a recognised brand name from a reputable authorised distributor, and consider the long-term Total Cost of Ownership rather than the initial purchase price. But even if you decide to do the sensible thing and look for the genuine article, how can you tell if it is?

The frightening truth is, many of today’s counterfeits are such good copies in terms of looks – if not of quality – that it takes the genuine manufacturer to tell: and then sometimes only after laboratory examination. Which means the only sure-fire way to avoid buying a counterfeit is to be very careful where you buy: from a reputable authorised distributor with a name you know and with whom, ideally, you have a long-term relationship. Then, if by the unlikeliest chance you still find yourself with a counterfeit, your supplier will take every possible step to find the source of the fake, will deal with the manufacturer on your behalf, and will try to ensure you get some kind of redress for the downtime, damage and possibly even loss of production which may have resulted.

That’s all very well for the bearings, power transmissions and other products you will buy in the future. But what about those which may already be installed on your machines or stored in your stockroom?

If you are in any doubt, any reputable supplier will help. (You could try the supplier who originally provided the dubious goods, but you’re unlikely to have much success.) A supplier such as ERIKS has contacts with the manufacturers, and can soon help you establish whether a component is the genuine article, before too much damage is done.