Science company urges customers to buy solely from authorized distributors
Following an assessment of the regional situation by senior representatives, DuPont Refrigerants has expressed its concerns over the prevalence of potentially dangerous counterfeits of R22 and R134a refrigerants within the Middle East. In order to avoid purchasing counterfeit or illegitimate products, DuPont urges its own customers to only source its refrigerant gas products from authorized distributors in the region. Moreover, the company is diligently policing and actively challenging the unauthorized use and counterfeiting of its refrigerant gases to ensure its customers receive products of legitimate quality.
Frequently branded or packaged to resemble leading brands, such as Freon® and Suva® from DuPont, analysis of the counterfeit refrigerants has show them to contain dangerous and flammable blends of various components.
"Such mixtures are harmful in every sense of the word," explains Pascal Faidy, business manager at DuPont Fluorochemicals Refrigerants, Europe, Middle East and Africa. "They are not only flammable and thus dangerous for those working directly with the refrigerant, but they contain ozone-depleting substances such as R12 and therefore do not support the phase-out of CFCs, the deadline for which is 2009 in the Middle East. Moreover we have witnessed cases where the use of such counterfeits has damaged components in air-conditioning systems. Finally, with regards to those products which are packaged to resemble genuine branded products, it is a blatant case of trade name abuse and counterfeiting."
Many of the counterfeit refrigerants are believed to emanate from certain countries of Asia, and are destined for the Middle East due to the region's large-scale requirements for R22 and R134a for use in air-conditioning systems.
DuPont believes its important role in the region in the refrigerants domain enables it to facilitate cooperation between local authorities on the prohibition of illegal imports, and to provide practical advice on the identification of counterfeiting products.
Faidy concludes: "The company has formed a specific local taskforce for this role. "For any wrong-doing, infringement or counterfeit we find, we reserve our right to enforce our trademark to the fullest extent of the law. We view trademark infringement and counterfeiting as serious matters which DuPont is not prepared to tolerate".
-Ends-
About DuPont Fluorochemicals
DuPont Fluorochemicals is a leading global supplier of refrigerants, using science and technology, market knowledge and global reach to provide sustainable materials and solutions to enhance personal comfort, enable food preservation, improve industrial processing and reduce environmental footprints. For more information, please visit www.refrigerants.dupont.com.
About DuPont
DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.
For more information, please contact:
Orient Planet PR & Marketing Communications
P.O. Box 23345, Dubai UAE
Tel : +971 4 3988901
Fax : +971 4 3988941
Email : info@orientplanet.com
Website: www.orientplanet.com
For the details of authorized distributors of DuPont refrigerant gases in the Middle East, customers are requested to contact:
Refik Sivri
Fluorochemicals Refrigerants, Turkey & Middle East
Phone: +90 212 340 04 68
Fax: +90 212 340 06 68
E-mail :refik.sivri@tur.dupont.com
Website : http://www.refrigerants.dupont.com
© Press Release 2009
