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Several police cars race through the streets in one place in China. Behind follow several vans full of plainclothes policemen. A tip on strictly illegal activities has secured permission to raid a premises.
The policemen are grouped. Brifes.
They are ready for action.
But this story begins in our neighboring country, Sweden.
82 tons
The doors open into a former industrial warehouse on the outskirts of Gothenburg. The voices resonate in the huge space that is used today as a warehouse. In the middle of the floor are large boxes in a row, filled to the brim with small and large industrial parts.
These are parts of a single 82-ton seizure.
– Everything you see here is false, says Kjetil Eliassen.
ACCESSORIES: Parts of the 82 ton accessories. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
He works at the Swedish ball bearing factory. They do something that we all have, but very few really know what it is or think they have.
Until they are destroyed.
Everything that rotates has a ball bearing. It is in the watch and on the mobile phone, in the washing machine and in the car.
WORRIED: Kjetil Eliassen at Svensk Kulelagerfabrikk with the giant fitting. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
– Every household has 150 of these, says Eliassen.
Major consequences
But Norwegian and the global industry also depend on these. Everything from subways and buses to maritime vessels and nuclear power plants.
And if they break, they can have significant financial, but also health, consequences.
– In the worst case, there can also be personal accidents, where the parts of the machine are broken with the nearby personnel. Or that it is fake bearings that are in the means of transportation, which means that the car or bus you are sitting in can break down.
EVERYONE HAS IT – SKF estimates that each of us has around 150 of these in our homes. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
The Swedish Ball Bearing Factory (SKF) is a world leader in the production of ball bearings, and more and more they are experiencing that their products are being pirated around the world.
– I no longer wonder where I see fake products. There are counterfeit products in ALL industries, all types of products, settles on all types of machines and in ALL geographic areas.
– 25-30 percent is false
SKF has found counterfeit parts on marine vessels and in nuclear power plants.
In some areas of the world, SKF estimates that between 25 and 30 percent of SKF ball bearings sold are counterfeit. The consequences of using these parts can be catastrophic.
There are several links before a fake ball bearing ends up on your watch or car.
Ghost companies
Most of these are made in China. Organized criminals set up shell companies in Hong Kong to appear more credible to customers. They trade heavily around the world.
When an offer is submitted, these players jump in. They match both in price and delivery time. Customers run the risk of buying a counterfeit product without knowing it.
And it happens.
According to TV 2 sources, agents in Asia make huge sums of money selling seemingly genuine industrial parts to customers around the world.
Eric Bearing
One such agent is the “Eric Bearing” company. On the company’s website we can see that they sell ball bearings from the Swedish ball bearing factory. However, according to SKF, Eric Bearings is not an authorized dealer of its products at all.
UNAUTHORIZED: Screenshot of the company’s website.
We decided to investigate the company further and therefore we traveled to Hong Kong.
From where we land, it is only a short taxi ride to the center.
Giant skyscrapers have corridors selling pirated goods.
HONG KONG: The Search for Eric Bearing. Photo: Finn Erik Robstad / TV 2
According to the website, “Eric Bearing” will be based in central Hong Kong.
“The goal is on the left.”
CLOSE TO GOAL: The map shows that we are approaching the right direction. Photo: Finn Erik Robstad / TV 2
According to the GPS, we are now in front of the building where “Eric Bearing” will be located. According to the website, they have an office on the 21st floor.
– Eric Bearing ?, we asked.
The man at the front desk points to a board on the wall. There are hundreds of names here, but no “Eric Bearing”.
SIGNS: These are just parts of the full list of businesses that will be staying in this building. Photo: Finn Erik Robstad / TV 2
We continue up the elevator to the 21st floor.
A narrow hallway with doors on each side, marked with different companies.
Obviously a dozen companies are based here, but we found no trace of “Eric Bearing.”
This may indicate that the company is one that is actually based in China, but has a postal address in Hong Kong to make it appear more credible to customers.
TV 2 has repeatedly tried to contact the company, without success.
ENDED HERE: No trace of the company that was supposed to be here. Photo: Finn Erik Robstad / TV 2
Reveal illegal factory
Because it is in mainland China that organized criminals produce and sell counterfeit industrial parts for billions of dollars every year.
But it’s not just about money.
Job losses, social dumping and child labor are also part of the picture.
Let’s go back to police action in China.
A line of policemen purposely enter the building where the raid will take place. Those in the building are in full swing with the current production and are completely taken to bed.
Inside the small room, the police find several children who are engraving the SKF logo with a laser on fake ball bearings. There are cardboard boxes full of counterfeit SKF packaging everywhere.
CHILD LABOR: Young children sit at laser machines and make fake parts. Photo: SKF
The children appear to be between 5 and 10 years old.
In the next room, the kitchen counter is littered with old dishes and dirty utensils. It is almost impossible to move without kicking the garbage that fills the floors. The production premises also function as housing for the workers. There are bunk beds, also the ones that are full of bags, clothes and the few belongings that the workers have. So they sleep in their own garbage.
GARBAGE: The production facilities also function as bedrooms. Photo: SKF
SKF’s Kjetil Eliassen shakes his head.
– It is very often children who sit with these laser machines, and it is clear that it is a sad sight. It hurts me a lot to see that this is so.
Advice to TV 2 journalists here
He himself often participates in these raids. He says that behind the workers is organized crime. Those who do the work are often victims of exploitation.
– I think that the level of knowledge about what they are part of is very, very small.
– Everyone has a responsibility
There are severe penalties for piracy in China. The country has established its own courts that only handle such trademark offenses, but they still increase the scope this year after year.
SKF believes that it is the responsibility of the Norwegian and European companies responsible for purchasing to ensure that the parts come from an authorized dealer. But individuals should also be more aware, he believes.
– These suppliers of counterfeit products will continue as long as there are buyers.
– As consumers, we all have a great, great responsibility. It is NOT just a trademark issue, it is a consumer issue, says Eliassen.
If you have suggestions on the subject, please send an email here, or you can also inform the encrypted TV 2 journalists through the Signal application (iOS and Android) at the phone number +4792039515.
