Counterfeit bearings are a significant risk in Southeast Asia, and WBA sent a delegation to Thailand and Vietnam from March 13-16 to meet with fake enforcement authorities and conduct training seminars.

Thailand
This is the third time WBA has held a face-to-face meeting with Thai Customs after the interruption caused by Covid-19. During the meeting, WBA thanked Thai Customs for its daily activities to detect counterfeit bearings and requested them to use the WBA application systematically, which facilitates the determination of authenticity.
After the meeting, a half-day training seminar for customs officials was held in Bangkok with 47 participants. This brings the total number of training sessions held by WBA in Thailand to four (two face-to-face and two online). At the last meeting, 89% of the participating officials responded in a questionnaire that they are now more attentive to bearings.

Vietnam
On the other hand, this is the first time the WBA has visited Vietnam.  WBA visited the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance (DMS) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), responsible for detecting counterfeit products in the domestic market.
The WBA introduced its activities, explained the risks of counterfeit bearings to human life and equipment, and proposed cooperative projects such as holding a seminar to identify authenticity.  In response, the DMS pointed out that most counterfeit bearings in Vietnam are smuggled, and agreed to strengthen cooperation with the WBA, saying that law enforcement authorities and companies need to cooperate closely to detect fakes effectively.

DMS website immediately released the WBA’s visit (More info).

During the meeting with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the WBA introduced WBA Check.  The MOST side had already downloaded the application, so a demonstration and Q&A session was held on the spot.

The WBA and the MOST agreed to strengthen their future cooperative relationship regarding exchanging information and implementing training seminars.

The WBA website and authenticity app are available in 13 languages, including Thai and Vietnamese.