Contitech shreds fake Chinese drive belts

Malta -- Around 19 500 fake drive belts and packaging produced by an unidentified Chinese company, but bearing seemingly official ContiTech labeling were seized by customs authorities in Malta and then destroyed upon release by the courts. Continental said The counterfeits entered the Mediterranean country along with other automotive aftermarket fakes via container shipment.

“To underscore our determination to rigorously pursue product piracy, we took legal action in this matter at our own expense and had the fakes destroyed,” points out Jürgen Grefe, head of automotive aftermarket sales in the ContiTech Power Transmission Group. At the beginning of November the counterfeits were tossed into a gigantic shredder that then spit them out as rubber shavings.

The cargo of counterfeits found in Malta stemmed from China. The manufacturer and dealer of the copies, however, remain unknown to date. “The shipping documents did not provide sufficient information on the origin and addressee.

The shredding of the fake belts is the second such incident uncovered by ContiTech this year. Previous to this incident, a dealer and a general importer in Taiwan were ordered by the court of last resort to make damage payments. The court had found them guilty of dealing in about 4,500 phony V-ribbed belts and approximately 13,000 faked boxes - still empty - done up in the ContiTech design.

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Press release from Contitech