About Us

This website was launched in March 2008 to mark the signing of the UK Electrical Installation Industry Charter. It is a joint initiative of the BEAMA Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group and Voltimum, the UK Electrical Industry Portal, to raise awareness of the risks associated with the trade in counterfeit goods and to provide information about the actions being taken to combat this trade.

ABOUT BEAMA ANTI-COUNTERFEITING WORKING GROUP

The BEAMA Anti-Counterfeiting WG (ACWG) has membership from all of the major brands in the circuit breaker and electrical accessory sectors, including those shown above.

Prime objectives include raising awareness, creating a political will in affected countries and establishing an international communication network between China, the Far East, Middle East and Africa. An investigation company is employed to take group raid action at source, mainly in China and in market countries.

Active projects:

• Electric Dragon – China (Wenzhou, Yiwu, Guangzhou & Shanghai)
• China Customs Watch – China
• Electric Panda – UAE
• Electric Jackal – Iraq
• Electric Falcon – Kuwait
• Electric Cheetah – Nigeria
• Electric Ibex – Jordan Customs Watch
• Electric Bulldog – UK
• Electric Lion – East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania)

The projects shown above are the current active projects of the ACWG. Except for Electric Dragon in China, which carries out raids against factories making counterfeit products, the other projects are in market countries where Chinese made counterfeits are competing with the original brands owned by our members. Each of the projects is unique in our industry in that it features a number of companies working together to beat the counterfeiters and those who choose to trade in these illegal products.

Electric Dragon defines our unique approach to the biggest challenge to IP rights owners:

• Permanent operation in China since 2000 operating in Yiwu, Wenzhou, Shanghai & Guangzhou
• The ACWG employs an investigation company which gives us Chinese investigators exclusive to us
• Good co-operation from authorities
• Visits to Guangzhou Trade Fair to ensure BEAMA members’ products are not displayed
• Over 400 factories raided, over 12 million products seized which would otherwise have gone on to the market in competition with our members’ brands
• 18 brands now represented and growing

The ACWG has sought to raise awareness about this insidious trade which places on to the market products which can kill and maim people and cause fires in property. We have raised the issue with politicians, market and Customs authorities and among manufacturers, distributors and installers throughout the world. Our films and posters and the strap line “Counterfeit Kills” have been a great success and the Voltimum minisite is the latest episode in this success.

Download your free copy of BEAMA's counterfeit-kills leaflet in .PDF format 186kb (right click and select Save Target As...) with more information on how to obtain your copy of the Counterfeit Kills DVD

About Voltimum

www.voltimum.co.uk is the UK electrical industry portal providing a central source of information for all those active in or associated with the UK electrical installation industry. The portal is backed by leading manufacturers of electrical installation products and supported by important trade associations and industry bodies and electrical wholesalers. It contains vast databases of information which are free to view such as a technical product catalogue, news archive, directory of wholesale outlets, training courses, Technical articles and technical questions and answers. It keeps the electrical market abreast of legislative change, new product launches, major events and other news via its award-winning newsletters VoltiNEWS and VoltiBULLETIN which are distributed to about 70,000 electrical industry professionals. It frequently uses its newsletters and the portal to promote the work being done by the BEAMA ACWG and other organizations to fight against counterfeit and non-compliant electrical installation products.

About Nema

NEMA is the trade association of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded in 1926 and headquartered near Washington, D.C., its approximately 450 member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and distribution, control, and end-use of electricity. These products are used in utility, medical imaging, industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential applications. Domestic production of electrical products sold worldwide exceeds $120 billion.