Freudenberg introduces anti-fraud markings on seals

ERJ staff report (DS)

Weinheim, Germany -- Freudenberg has taken to marking its Simrit-brand seals with an anti-fraud solution. Producers of premium products made from rubber have increasingly faced problems due to counterfeiting. While a premium producer uses specific polymers, formulations and rigorous curing regimes, other suppliers do not always follow the same procedures.

Freudenberg is seeking to prevent unauthorised copies by marking its premium Simrit products using a specialised printing system which produces a durable, encrypted mark. The mark can be used to trace the specific production batch. It offers clear product identification with information covering item description, model, dimensions, material, date of manufacture and serial number for reliable traceability and to guard against counterfeiting.

Product marking is individually matched to the product in two different forms. As well as a flat, rectangular code, distorted product marking for O-rings, for example, can also be provided. By marking products in this way, the code will be still legible even if up to 70 percent of the marking has been destroyed, for example, through wear which is of significant benefit. Conventional machine-read codes, such as data matrix codes, are unable to provide the high capacity needed to identify seal components.

Freudenberg has called the system, "safe", for “Secure Adaptive Freudenberg Encryption”. It claims the process is the first in the world to offer and use the benefits of product marking for the safety of elastomer components.

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Press release from Freudenberg