Investigation into counterfeit breakers

An investigation into counterfeit breakers webinar

What you will learn

Learn how to quickly identify at-risk and suspect packaging, extraneous marks and labeling, product modifications, and how counterfeit products are sold.
Learn how today’s technology is being used to help contractors easily detect counterfeits in the market place, along with intuitive digital tools to assist contractors in the field.

Counterfeits are a multi-million dollar problem

In the electrical industry, counterfeits are estimated to be a multi-million-dollar problem. From circuit breakers that do not trip when they should to batteries without vents for built-up gases to grounding rods with only a fraction of the required copper coating, counterfeit electrical products fail to meet standards and pose risks of injury and even death. Furthermore, contractors may be liable if they install a counterfeit product, and for years, manufacturers have considered contractors the men and women on the front lines in the battle against counterfeiters.

Stop counterfeit components

About the presenters

Erika Healy

Erika Healy received her B.S. degree in Manufacturing Engineering Technology from Purdue University. She completed two summer internships with Eaton while at Purdue (Operations in Beltsville, Md., and Sales in Pittsburgh, Penn.) and started her full-time career through Eaton‘s Technical Sales Leadership Development Program in 2014, based in Atlanta, Ga. She moved to Houston in January 2016 to take on the role of Distributor Sales Representative. In April 2018, she became a Marketing Specialist where she works in the Gulf Region to ensure distributors understand the dangers of purchasing from unauthorized resellers and sets them up with competitive pricing, marketing and promotional campaigns, as well as training and education for their workplace personnel. She also works with contractors in the area to ensure they are purchasing product from only authorized resellers.

Tom Grace

Tom Grace has more than 22 years of experience in Eaton’s electrical business, focusing for more than 10 of those years on the impact of counterfeiting on Eaton and the electrical industry. As brand protection manager of Eaton’s Electrical Sector – Americas, he has undertaken the global coordination for brand protection and continues to promote counterfeit awareness, product enhancement, and policy enforcement throughout Eaton’s electrical sectors in the Americas, EMEA and APAC.

Tom has done extensive field work that includes market research and administrative actions in China, research and investigations in the Middle East, as well supporting federal authorities conducting criminal investigations of counterfeit products in the United States. Tom is actively engaged in training with federal agencies and local law enforcement and has conducted anti-counterfeit training at most of the major U.S. ports. To raise the awareness of the risks of counterfeit electrical products, Tom frequently collaborates with industry associations such as Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), North American Electrical Distributors (NAED), Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFi), and the Professional Apparatus Recyclers League (PEARL). Tom holds a BS degree from the University of South Florida.

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy and helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges.