STEEL ALLIANCE AGAINST COUNTERFEITING
About SAAC
Steel Alliance Against Counterfeiting (SAAC) is a non-profit industry initiative that was launched in November 2015 during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC). Members of the Alliance are reputable manufacturers of steel pipes, flanges and fittings. Collectively, the Alliance represents steel products producers with approximately up to 20 bln USD turnover.

The Alliance’s primary objective is to act as a strong and coherent voice for the industry against trademark counterfeiting. Steel industry needs a protection in order to ensure quality and safety in construction segment. SAAC cooperates with governmental bodies, distributors and contractors to prevent any negative consequences.

The market of fake steel products in Middle East is growing year by year and poses considerable safety, legal and financial risks for all stakeholders, with potential disastrous consequences for the environment and human lives. Counterfeiters mark non-certified steel products with the brand identity of a reputed supplier, refurbish used products as new ones and copy documents and packing of well-known brands.
CARLO FARINA,
Dr.,Managing Director, Friedrich Geldbach, Gmbh
"Today is the very first time ever that so many key suppliers are raising their voices into one, the first time ever that the counterfeiting and forgery evidence is brought so openly and so strongly directly to the public. The main goal of creating Fight Fake Products Initiative is to act as a strong, coherent voice for European industry in the fight against the manufacture, distribution and sales of counterfeited products".
ANDREY BURTSEV,
Vice-President of sales, Interpipe
“Counterfeiting of steel is growing, particularly in the Middle East. The use of fake steel here makes vital safety issues. Pipe products and accessories are widely used in civil engineering in the region. Counterfeiters copy certificates, production documents, but they can’t copy quality. It can be a real threat for society. As a part of this initiative, we should further work with suppliers, official authorities, government to make this market fairer, safer and more competitive”.
Michael Kremmel,
Sales Director for the Middle East and Asia, Erne Fittings
“We are to make customers, legal authorities, as well as governments aware of this malpractice. If they are aware, they can face it and react accordingly. Surely, producers do it in on day-to-day basis, checking certificates, verifying the documents. But it is not enough. As an organized group we will be in the position to address these cases by any means”.
Anaïs EIDEN,
Group Senior Legal Manager, Intellectual Property and R&D, Vallourec
“The use of counterfeited products creates significant risks for our industry. It is not just about loss of profit and reputation. Use of counterfeited products that do not meet the required quality standards can cause serious damages to the environment in case of accidents. Vallourec - strongly supports "Fight Fake Products Initiatives" as an effective way to address, together with other manufacturers, these risks”.