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The eBearing News
September 20, 2004
Bearing Conference 2004 Report
copyright © 2004 eBearing Inc.
Bearing Conference 2004, the only international conference targeted strictly to the bearing
industry, was a heartening success and drew more attendees than 2003, organizer
Ian McPherson told eBearing.
Now in its seventh year, the four-day conference was held this year in Bratislava, Slovakia. The
key sponsor was HTC Holding / ZKL, also offering plant tours during the conference.
In attendance were manufacturers and distributors from over 30 countries; every continent
was represented, said Mr. McPherson.
Conference activities included a trade show, formal presentations, and a wide variety of
networking opportunities. Activities this year were designed to be more informal, allowing
people across the industry more time to be introduced and better discuss and understand business
situations around the world.
Many first-time attendees were from bearing manufacturers across eastern Europe, taking advantage
of Bratislava's proximity and the opportunity for exposure they would not otherwise have.
Formal and informal meetings at this year's conference were marked by serious discussions about
several ongoing issues for the bearing industry: trademark and intellectual property rights
litigation, counterfeiting, rebranding and repackaging.
Counterfeit bearings were a key issue, with relabeled and rebadged bearings
made in China and India now regularly showing up in the European market, most often as SKF or ZKL brand.
A contract manufacturer, Austria's NKE/Steyr, reportedly boycotted the Bearing Conference after
allegations surfaced that the company is not a manufacturer based in Austria at all, but simply
imports finished bearings from China which are marked, "NKE Steyr Austria." NKE has not yet responded
to eBearing's request for comment.
Ongoing bearing trademark, registration and ownership litigation in Prague, Czech Republic, also kept a
number of ZKL-connected individuals and companies from attending the conference this year. At issue are
a wide variety of claims and counter-claims -- including conference sponsor HTC Holding / ZKL -- claiming
ownership of the ZKL trademark, engineering, and manufacturing rights.
Bearing Conference 2005 moves to Italy, scheduled for May 12 - 14. With two days in Naples and two days in
Sorrento, it promises to be even better attended, larger and wide-ranging.
The Naples / Sorrento conference will be hosted by Dr. Giustino Izzo from the Izzo Group and Mondial Tecnica,
the largest bearing distributors in Italy. Dr. Izzo is also President of Italy's Federazione Nazionale della
Distribuzione Industriale (FNDI), the largest distributor association in Italy.
Website for Bearing Conference 2005:
• Bearing Conference 2005
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- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered
trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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