Brammer warns over counterfeit spares
1 min read
Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) products and services specialist Brammer has issued a fresh warning to UK industry about the problems posed by counterfeit spares – in the light of new evidence showing the threat in the UK is now very real.
The company quotes a recent incident that saw a total of 2.5 tonnes of counterfeit SKF bearings seized by trading standards officers from a non-authorised SKF bearing distributor in the UK.
The incident follows a number of similar cases in continental Europe in recent years – 30 tonnes of counterfeit bearings were discovered in one operation in the Czech Republic, while more than 6,500 counterfeit products were impounded by the Swedish authorities last year.
Brammer's Jeremy Salisbury said that until recently the problem had been thought to be more prevalent in continental Europe, but this most recent case showed that UK industry was very much under threat.
Counterfeit products sometimes offered the prospect of a shorter lead time or small purchase price saving.
However, counterfeit parts could degrade and fail quickly, damage machinery, potentially had health and safety implications and meant there might be little or nothing in the way of redress from insurers or through warranties.
