Police seize counterfeit ContiTech V-belts in Morocco

ERJ staff report (TB)

Tire Business staff report

Casablanca, Morocco - Police in Casablanca have uncovered and destroyed approximately 500 ContiTech V-ribbed transmission belts in a warehouse there, ContiTech Power Transmission Group said.

The retailer who had prepared the V-belts for sale was arrested and faces trial in Casablanca, according to the company. Police also found counterfeits of ContiTech products in raids on several other retailers, as well as products pirated from other manufacturers, it said. Authorities are still trying to trace the origin of the phony belts, a ContiTech spokesman said.

ContiTech has no estimates as to how much it loses because of pirated products each year, but the company has a comprehensive approach to protecting itself from counterfeiters, it said. That approach involves organizational, technical, legal and communications measures, according to Helmut Engel, head of automotive aftermarket at ContiTech.

“We inform and warn retailers and garages of the dangers involved in using pirate products,” Engel said. “Pirate products have substandard material properties and inferior workmanship. High maintenance and repair costs, even engine damage, are the result.”

Belts are the main target of counterfeiters among ContiTech's products, followed by air spring bellows, the company said.

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Article from Tire Business