Suspicion of counterfeiting elevator equipment

According to claim, some customers who bought domestic elevators in Hai Phong suspected that the elevator’s traction machine was fake. Specifically, when buying an elevator from company X, Ms. L noticed that her elevator had traction machine advertised as a complete unit imported from Germany, named Ziehl-Abegg. Suspecting the equipment to be counterfeit, she wrote a letter and sent a photo to the Ziehl-Abegg traction machine supplier, according to her knowledge, Doza Technology Co., Ltd. On January 10, 2022, Doza Company sent a complaint to the Vietnam Elevator Association and Elevator Magazine on suspicion of trading and counterfeiting Ziehl-Abegg traction machine on the market.

Photo provided by Doza company, comparing real Ziehl-Abegg traction machine (left) and fake (right)

Immediately after receiving information from people and businesses, the Elevator Association directed Elevator Magazine to learn about the incident. Along with that, the Association has worked directly with Manufacturer Ziehl-Abegg – Germany, conducting verification and clarification to promptly inform readers, consumers and businesses.

Official answer from the manufacturer

After receiving a request from the Association, on January 12, 2022, Ziehl-Abegg had an official answer: providing information and identifying signs of genuine Ziehl-Abegg traction machine.

Firstly, in terms of product visual identification, Ziehl-Abegg said that each type of traction machine has documentation on machine dimensions and images. These official documents form the basis for actual tests and comparisons. For example, traction machine ZAtop SM200.20, a traction machine of Ziehl-Abegg is very popular in Vietnam (630kg, 8 people, pulley 320mm, wire rope 8mm).

Looking at the size table of ZAtop SM200.20 above, we have realized that the foot design of the fake machine is completely different from the genuine one (red line) and the foot distance is different from the manufacturer’s 190mm size (green line). In addition, real and fake foot drill holes also have different sizes and designs of holes and some details completely.

Photo of a fake traction machine provided by Ziehl-Abegg to compare with the actual design of this manufacturer

“The products of the fake traction machine companies are always different from the genuine products, because they do not have the modern equipment and technology that we have. We and our experts can tell very easily from the design of the whole machine whether it is a Ziehl-Abegg product or not,” the Ziehl-Abegg representative confirmed.

Second, Ziehl-Abegg traction machine imported into Vietnam have all documents and records. Accordingly, each shipment of elevator traction machines is provided with a set of documents including: Certificate of Origin (CO), Certificate of Quality (CQ), Packing list, Air Waybill, Commercial Invoice. However, the manufacturer also confirms: each batch of machines is only provided with one CO and CQ, it ‘s possible for the seller to intentionally import the real product and then copies it to use for the fake device. Therefore, to exclude this case, customers need to pay attention, check carefully and remember the distinguishing signs of real / fake products. When in doubt, you can directly contact the hotline 02473099868 of the Vietnam Elevator Association and Elevator Magazine.

Partial image of the document of Ziehl-Abegg traction machine provided by the manufacturer

Third, to protect the brand, Ziehl-Abegg has planned to produce new stamps for its products. These stamps have a non-replicable detail that enables customers to distinguish whether the Ziehl-Abegg on the product is fake or real. It’s the Ziehl-Abegg logo as a hologram (pictured above left, cannot be reproduced). That special stamp cannot be removed from the traction machine. When trying to remove it, it will be torn apart. They said that in the first quarter of 2022 at the latest, all machinery exported to the Vietnamese market will have nameplates with new identification stamps.

Ziehl-Abegg’s new identity stamp. Photo courtesy of Ziehl-Abegg

The stamp from the manufacturer Ziehl-Abegg stuck on the device will tear being removed

In addition, each machine has a unique serial number, through looking up on the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, the manufacturer can check that the corresponding machine has the correct serial number that Ziehl-Abegg has produced and supplied to one of its partners in Vietnam.

Ziehl-Abegg also said that there are 5 firms that buy their traction machine and resell them in the Vietnamese market: Doza Technology Co., Ltd., Sanyo Minh Long Elevator Co., Ltd., Thuan Anh Trading and Service Co. Ltd, Hisa Elevator – Electrical Engineering Co., Ltd and Hao Phuong Joint Stock Company. Currently, there is not a single firm that is officially distributed exclusively.

Side by side with consumers and businesses

Not excluded, the recent Ziehl-Abegg traction machine counterfeiting is not the only case but also cases of counterfeiting of products of some other brands. Quite a lot of traction machine, electrical cabinets, components are faked by labeling of famous manufacturers or ambiguity between the name of the component and the component assembly, component combination, etc. There are also case of genuine document but fake product. That is the act of using import documents of famous brands and then repairing, erasing, photocopying, etc. to sell fake, poor quality, and improper value goods, causing significant damage to customers. By entering real buy some genuine products to have full documents (CO), (CQ), … then sell fake goods and use real documents to trick consumers…

The act of trading in and using counterfeit goods of Ziehl-Abegg traction machine in particular, elevator components and spare parts in general not only affects the reputation of the main manufacturer or distributor but also have many potential risks of unsafety for users because of counterfseit traction machine, components, and spare parts that are not controlled in terms of quality. In that situation, the Vietnam Elevator Association and Elevator Magazine are the agencies that receive and verify all claims and information, acting as a bridge between consumers, businesses and authorities, domestic and international manufacturers to help people distinguish genuine and fake goods, contributing to helping businesses protect their brands and reputation.

For any information, please contact Vietnam Elevator Association Hotline and Elevator Magazine – Phone number: 02473099868; Email: contact@vnea.com.vn or contact@tapchithangmay.com