Counterfeit products are so common in today’s
marketplace that many people take them for granted. Indeed, some
consumers are happy to purchase cheap imitations of expensive designer
clothing and accessories and knockoff watches bearing prestigious brand
names. Others purchase counterfeit goods, thinking they are genuine, and
are disappointed or outraged when they discover they have been duped
with a fake. Of course, these kinds of counterfeits pose no safety risk.
However, counterfeit electrical products—their number rapidly
growing—bring serious performance issues and safety hazards that can
result in injury and death.
Product performance and safety are not considerations
of counterfeiters who use inferior materials and assemble products made
to fail, enabling them to sell their goods at prices far below genuine
products. Counterfeiters focus on products that can be easily mass
produced at low cost. Furthermore, they often use well-known names and
include unauthorized Underwriters Laboratories (UL) marks to further
mislead buyers.
Categories of electrical products identified as high
risks for counterfeiting by the Electrical Safety Foundation
International include control relays for industrial equipment, circuit
breakers, fuses, electrical receptacles, ground-fault circuit
interrupters, conduit fittings, electrical connectors, lamps, electronic
lamp ballasts, dry cell batteries, lithium-ion batteries, smoke
detectors, power strips and surge suppressors, electrical extension
cords and power cords for computers and other equipment.
Counterfeit circuit breakers have become a global
problem, said Clark Silcox, legal counsel for the National Electrical
Manufacturers Association (NEMA).
“We are seeing knockoffs of several well-known North
American brand names of residential circuit breakers. In the Western
Hemisphere, the problem is present from Canada to the end of South
America. The source of the counterfeit residential breakers appears to
be exclusively China, where Chinese counterfeiters are even making
knockoffs of well-known Chinese brand name circuit breakers,” Silcox
said.
In addition, the industry is seeing knockoffs of
well-known brands of larger molded-case circuit breakers used in
commercial settings.
“Some of the larger circuit breakers are from China,”
Silcox said, “but others are genuine products believed to be destined
for export but which were diverted and labels adulterated to remove
valuable product information, including information that could be
critical to a product recall or relabeled for the domestic market. In
some of these cases, the circuit breakers have been ‘up-amped’ to
misrepresent them as products they are not in order to resell at a
higher price.”
Silcox noted that, while there is evidence of
counterfeit brand names on wire and cable, the bigger problem is
products that bear counterfeit certification marks primarily on
extension cords and power strips sold through deep discount retail
outlets and at flea markets.
“These products are dangerous,” Silcox said. “The
common thread and threat is that the cord is substandard and does not
meet the listing agency’s specifications. Almost always, the copper wire
gauge is thinner than that called for by safety standards that the test
labs test to. Because copper has become very expensive, using less
copper enables the counterfeiter to sell the product at a lower price by
creating an unsafe condition.”
NEMA members estimate approximately 750,000 counterfeit ground connectors were imported from China and India in 2007.
“The safety standard calls for a minimum 10 mils of
copper to be applied evenly across the 8-foot steel rod to protect the
rod in the ground from degradation due to corrosion,” Silcox said.
“Ground rods meeting the safety standard will typically last for 40 or
even 50 years in the ground, providing building owners and utilities
with long-term protection from the risks of power surges due to events,
such as lightning. The counterfeit rods that NEMA has seen have 2 to 3
mils of copper, which means they will last five to eight years in the
ground, at which time the risk of corrosion sets in.”
Label issues
In legal terms, a product is counterfeit if it bears a
mark identical or substantially indistinguishable from a genuine
trademark registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Unauthorized use of the UL or Canadian Standards Association
International mark places a product in the counterfeit category.
Typically, the term has come to be used to include inferior equipment
that has no name or marking, labeling that misrepresents the product’s
specifications, and look-alike knockoffs that do not carry the imitated
product’s name but are designed to look like the genuine article. Silcox
said court cases have held that the practice of label adulteration is
counterfeiting.
“Producers of counterfeit products, including circuit
breakers, use inadequate materials and manufacturing processes, often
without a thorough understanding of the products’ necessary design
specifications or intended use,” said Jim Pauley, vice president,
industry and government relations, Schneider Electric North American
Operating Division, Palatine, Ill. “Most counterfeiters have no
knowledge of how the product works. They use reverse engineering to
attempt to replicate the genuine article. But after disassembling
counterfeit circuit breakers, we find they are made of inferior
materials and may include parts that would never be used together—parts
from different models, for example. Tests confirm counterfeits will not
function properly and cannot pass basic tests as circuit breakers.
“Counterfeiters do not care if their products work,”
he added. “They are not looking for repeat customers. If a recall of a
counterfeit product is issued by a government agency, the original
counterfeiter never bears the burden of that recall effort. Suppliers
have no recourse, and buyers get what they paid for.
“In our experience, most counterfeit products are
manufactured in China, but we also have discovered entities in the U.S.,
Mexico and South America that are distributing counterfeits,” Pauley
said.
“Counterfeiting is a significant problem, and it’s
growing as counterfeiters become more sophisticated and more brazen,”
said Kevin Yates, vice president, Residential Products Division, Siemens
Energy & Automation, Alpharetta, Ga.. “The problem is especially
troubling in the residential and commercial construction markets, as
electrical components like circuit breakers are easy targets. A recent
survey in ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine found that almost 86 percent of
those responding could not tell the difference between real or
counterfeit breakers. Counterfeit circuit breakers pose serious safety
and business issues beyond the economic impact. They put lives at risk.
Safety standards are not being met, and no warranties or guarantees back
them up.”
Yates said Siemens’ primary interest in this issue is
the safety of its customers and channel partners. However, Siemens also
wishes to protect its brand. To address the situation, the company is
focusing on education, identification and prosecution if necessary.
“Counterfeiters make copies. They are not the
designers,” said Kevin Harris, international policy manager, European
organization, Eaton Electrical Group. “They use inferior or recycled
materials. And they may eliminate certain components, and they miss out
on quality control. The products may look okay and very often can be
quite difficult to identify as counterfeits. But they do not work and
rarely perform to the specifications on the labels, so reliability is
greatly impaired, which can result in severe health and safety issues to
the public.
Larry Wilson, senior communications manager, Fluke Corp., Everett, Wash., said Fluke is facing a different problem.
“We aren’t seeing counterfeits of our testers, but
cheap look-alike units whose makers attempt to make their appearance
through face design and color combinations appear to be Fluke
equipment,” he said. “To protect our brand, we own rights to the color
combination and faces of our testing units and are very vigilant about
taking legal action against those who violate our copyrights.
Wilson said Fluke tests all of its meters before they
are sold, subjecting them to high voltage spikes to make sure they
exceed industry standards. It is unlikely look-alike equipment meets
industry specifications, and those Fluke has tested fail to withstand
spikes.
“The insidious thing about this is that, to make a buck, people are put in danger,” Wilson said.
A construction and tools writer can be reached at skype:goodluck3801 and business24@ecpss.com
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