Heavy Duty Trucking, July 2015

Counterfeit Parts Packaging from India center right tries to make customers think they are buying Danas SVL Drivetrain products brand left Vehicle Systems says counterfeiting is still a concern for Bendix but not as big as it was five years ago We were aggressive in our actions against counterfeiters he says Early on shut down one distributor that was selling counterfeit parts at the SEMA AAPEX show with the support of show management Those actions put people on notice that they better when we first saw it we targeted specific distributors that we saw were selling counterfeit parts The company sent cease anddesist letters and went so far as to A parts buying glossary In the discussion of counterfeit parts it is helpful to have an understanding of terminology Gordon Botts owner of Botts Welding Truck Service used these definitions during a session on aftermarket parts at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week Aftermarket design Products designed and fully tested and validated specifically for aftermarket use typically in kit or single job form Many products meet or exceed OEM requirements According to Don Devany senior vice president of Betts Co with aftermarket replacement parts there is no concerted effort to deceive the buyer on the part of the aftermarket replacement manufacturers which typically create and support a distinctive brand Counterfeit Parts Parts that are produced with the intent of misleading the consumer Counterfeit parts are typically reverse engineered from patented trademark registered branded products in fit form function appearance and trade dress i e product colors packaging Production sale of and use are all subject to civil and criminal penalties for violation of patent and trademark laws Sellers of counterfeit parts are also subject to prosecution by the Department of Justice for deceptive trade practices John Devany sales manager at Betts Truck Parts Service adds that while counterfeit parts are often imported We are very careful to educate our team that not all imports are counterfeit and not all counterfeit parts are imported Genuine OEM Products designed for tested validated and approved by vehicle manufacturers for assembly line use or aftermarket sale According to William Fouch aftermarket marketing manager transmissions at Eaton Corp We look at genuine parts as being parts that are used in an OEM production type environment In the aftermarket a genuine part would be purchasing another transmission that has been remanufactured by the manufacturer of the original transmission Gray market products Products produced by contract or joint venture manufacturers for OEM or branded product suppliers Gray market products are typically intentional over runs on production or in many cases those parts that were rejected for various quality issues These products are sold referencing the brand with the seller stating they have excess inventory Knock off Parts intentionally produced to mimic OEM or branded products by use of similar colors or trade dress The intention is to sell a product that appears at first glance to be genuine OEM or major branded products Private label Products sourced usually globally for sale as a product under a supplier or wholesalers brand name White box Unbranded products produced in various countries with part numbers for several competitive brands These typically are high volume parts purchased in bulk They usually are sold to fleets on repair invoices at branded product prices and represented on invoices as those brands Will fit Products that are sold in the aftermarket for use where OEM product designs are covered by patents or older designs are adapted for newer model use Typically adaptors of some sort are used to make the product work for the application 46 HDT JULY 2015 www truckinginfo com