In early April, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) issued an alert that the world’s most prominent brand of communications cable–Systimax–had been found to be counterfeited. Specifically, a box of communications cable sold in China and designated as Systimax Solutions bears a counterfeit Systimax logo, print message, label, and UL mark for the United States and Canada.
In an interview, Underwriters Laboratories’ consumer safety director John Drengenberg called those who counterfeit communications cable criminals. “We are very aggressive with counterfeiters,” he began. “We do not take it lightly at all. We consider them to be criminals. ... We do everything we can within the law” to put such counterfeiters out of operation, he added. The specific investigation into the counterfeit Systimax cable is ongoing and UL is actively investigating the product’s source.
But tracking down counterfeiters is, by its nature, a difficult task–as is determining the volume of counterfeit products on the market. “People often ask us how many counterfeit items are out there,” Drengenberg said. “It’s like asking how many counterfeit $20 bills are in your hometown. Counterfeiters don’t keep records.”
During our interview with UL’s Drengenberg, he was adamant that this instance of counterfeiting is an affront to two brands–the UL brand, as well as the CommScope Systimax brand. He also emphasized the leadership role CommScope plays in the communications industry as well as the high performance level of the cable it produces.
“There is nothing wrong with the Systimax trade name at all,” he said. “We can verify that CommScope has valid UL listings.” Drengenberg added, as a comment on Systimax’s strong brand performance: “Nobody counterfeits Timex watches. They counterfeit Rolex.”
UL works with customs inspectors specifically to guard against counterfeit products entering the United States–specifically from China, which is where a significant amount of counterfeiting takes place, he said. Overall, UL’s anti-counterfeiting strategy depends on three main activities: enforcement, education, and partnerships.
Drengenberg also commented that communications cable does not necessarily fit the typical profile of a product that is counterfeited most often. Most often, high-volume, low-priced items, including consumer products like power strips, nightlights, and decorative holiday lights, are subject to counterfeiting.
Still, this alert by UL surprises few. In previous conversations with executives at manufacturing and distribution firms in the communications connectivity and cable business, I have been told repeatedly that a specific brand that is not even sold into a certain market has a respectable share of that market. The entirety of that market share, of course, is counterfeit. It was about a year ago when senior editor Matt Vincent reported on the National Electronic Distributors Association (NEDA) and the Independent Distributors of Electronics Associations (IDEA) agreeing that counterfeiting is a significant issue for their organizations. (See “Distributors agree counterfeiting is top concern,” May 2008, page 1,)
Something tells me that by ripping off the UL and Systimax brand names, these counterfeiters have kicked a couple bears they’ll wish they hadn’t.
 |
Patrick McLaughlin
Chief Editor
Patrick@pennwell.com
