NSK rolling bearings have been known for decades for their high quality and long service life. They are therefore used in many demanding user sectors in the capital goods and automotive industries. For this reason, the NSK brand is unfortunately also of interest to counterfeiters.

Dealers who put counterfeit NSK bearings into circulation are not only jeopardizing their own business because they are buying inferior drive elements and selling them to their customers. They are also abusing the trust of their customers, who assume that they are receiving a high-quality product at a particularly favorable price. As these bearings are prone to premature failure, they pose a risk to users. If the counterfeits are not recognized in such cases of damage, this has a negative impact on NSK's brand image.

Counterfeit outer packaging in NSK design © NSK

Detecting counterfeit bearings and identifying counterfeiters is time-consuming and costly. This does not deter NSK from maintaining these efforts, and successes such as the one described here prove this strategy right. In this case, an investigator commissioned by NSK and also Chinese authorities were involved. They discovered a counterfeiting workshop in Hebei, where a large number of NSK packages produced there were seized. Employees were also caught "in flagrante delicto" producing counterfeit packaging material. The owner of the workshop admitted that all the packaging was counterfeit.

Even though this seizure was an important blow against the "counterfeit bearing industry", it was only directed against one of many workshops involved and a small proportion of the total number of "fake bearings" produced worldwide. This is another reason why NSK will continue the fight against counterfeiters.

Detailed view of counterfeit NSK packaging and labels © NSK

Comprehensive information on counterfeit bearings can be found on the website www.stopfakebearings.com, which is operated by the WBA (World Bearing Association). It explains how to recognize counterfeit bearings and how important it is to only purchase branded bearings directly from the respective manufacturers or authorized dealers of the respective brand or from trustworthy sources. as