Keeping a cool head in critical markets

The use of counterfeit Danfoss filter driers can not only result in cold-storage warehouses malfunctioning at the retailer's premises; it has also led to quite considerable losses for the manufacturer of the original product.

In order to protect its customers and its brand and to safeguard its reputation as a world-leader in refrigeration and heating technology, Danfoss therefore now uses counterfeit protection from tesa scribos.

10,000 filter driers with forged Danfoss logos in Dubai, a warehouse full of illegal copies in Egypt, proceedings against product pirates in China and Malaysia – the list of incidents which Danfoss has had to deal with in the last year alone is long. The reasons why Danfoss filter driers fall victim to product piracies on a particularly frequent basis are obvious: they are known for high quality, and counterfeiters can rely on being able to charge high prices with their copies.

The price Danfoss pays is far higher still, however, as the non-material damage to the name and to the brand – caused by defective imitations with the familiar red Danfoss logo – results in a loss of sales in the region of tens of millions.

In order to achieve lasting protection in the future, Danfoss has recently begun protecting its filter driers using a tesa Holospot® security label. In the Mexican factory, each drier is provided with the individual security label, which is only the size of a fingernail. The tesa Holospot®, already widely used to great success, offers the best possible protection against counterfeiting in a very small space – from the unique product code to the Danfoss micro logo.

The authenticity features are on three different layers, known as authentication levels. The first can be seen with the naked eye and is used in particular for verifiability by retailers, service engineers and the end user. The second level can be read using a commercially available magnifying glass and can be used for verification by a narrower circle of trained individuals in distribution. A third level contains hidden features which can be interpreted by means of a special device.Because of the extremely high level of counterfeit security provided by tesa Holospot® technology, Danfoss retailers, installation engineers and customers can in the future be absolutely certain that they have sold, installed and purchased an original product.

With its comprehensive campaign to inform people about the introduction of the new security system, Danfoss expects to achieve both a lasting increase in the confidence of customers and retailers in the Danfoss brand and also a decrease in the number of counterfeits.