The situation faced by name brand bearing manufacturers and distributors in India is the most obvious. At times, over 40% of the bearings sold in India under well-known name brands have been counterfeit. Not only did this endanger the public, it also severely undermined consumer confidence. A 2001 study by ORG Marg found that 85% of Indian customers who stopped buying SKF bearings did so because of counterfeiting -- being so pervasive that retail customers lost confidence what they were receiving was actually an SKF bearing.

In India, SKF deserves credit for its proactive approach. Not only did the company work to identify counterfeiters, it also assisted official agencies pursuing them. In addition, SKF India changed its overall packaging and introduced tamper-proof, holographic pouches to thwart knockoffs. Over the past 18 months, those efforts, along with court decisions, raids and more direct participation by other manufacturers, have produced significant results in stunting the black market.

Now bearing manufacturers across the European Union have announced they are banding together to fight their own rising tide of counterfeits. Through the Federation of European Bearing Manufacturers' Associations (FEBMA), they are applying for border seizures of counterfeit bearings.

FEBMA President, Juergen Geissinger, said, "To rigorously fight the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit bearings is a matter of priority of the European bearing industry." Mr. Geissinger went on to say, "The confiscation of counterfeit bearings in the EU is an important step to protect customers and consumers and enables bearing manufacturers to take legal measures against all involved in the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit bearings."

Ironically, one reason for the influx of counterfeit bearings in the EU is successful anti-counterfeit efforts in other countries. Large quantities of counterfeits, which might have been destined for smuggling into India, for example, are now moving into other markets. Because transactions are in cash, counterfeiters tend to prefer operating in markets with readily-traded currencies, such as the Euro (that said, however, eBearing has numerous reports of increased counterfeiting in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and across the former Soviet republics).

The FEBMA said, "Customs authorities agree that the concerted initiative by European bearing manufacturers will significantly increase the chances to detect counterfeits. The European bearing industry is, therefore, confident that its initiative to intensify the fight against counterfeiting will turn out to be a success."