Tips to avoid being supplied counterfeit bearings
Counterfeit bearings impact an estimated 10 to 15 percent of bearings supplied worldwide.
South Africa has recently become a hot spot for this activity as the current economic situation and supply chain constraints have resulted in counterfeits becoming more attractive to opportunistic bearing suppliers and traders.
Risks associated with procuring counterfeit bearings:
- Premature bearing failure
- Reduced machine reliability
- Damage to machinery,
- Injury and/or loss of life
- Increased operational costs
- Production losses
- Impacted health and safety of workers and the environment.
- Unplanned and costly shutdowns
- Reputational damage
- Costly legal action
How to avoid counterfeits
- Only buy from authorised distributors of premium brands: The best way to safeguard authenticity is to source your bearing requirements from an authorised distributor of a premium brand. If in doubt contact the bearing manufacturer to confirm that the distributor is, in fact, an authorised distributor for that brand.
- When in doubt, ask. If you believe that you may have been offered or supplied a counterfeit bearing, contact your authorised distributor or the bearing manufacturer directly prior to installing the bearing/s in question. Alternatively, you can appease your concerns using apps such as SKF Authenticate, for all SKF bearings. The World Bearing Association (WBA) has launched an application that can be downloaded on Apple and Android smartphones. This app allows you to scan various premium brands of bearings to determine if they are originals or suspected counterfeits. We recommend that you download these apps as your first line of defense against counterfeits.
- Request a stock audit. Whenever any bearing marked ‘SKF’ is suspected of its authenticity, we strongly advise that photos of the product (as per enclosed photo instructions) along with proof of purchase be sent via the app. SKF will assess the legitimacy of the unit/s and submit a verification report within 1 working day.
If you are concerned about the authenticity of multiple SKF branded products (more than 100 units), a stock verification service is offered where a trained SKF Inspection Engineer will perform a physical on-site inspection.
