Vallourec

01

The higher the value, the greater the risk

The seamless steel pipe manufacturer was dealing with the threat of counterfeit products entering its supply chain, in the 20 countries in which it operates. These products used the trademarks of Vallourec – a company which spends over $60 M annually on R&D – and even came with false certificates. By confusing customers about the source of products, counterfeiters were illegally gaining a profit from the Group’s investments and reputation. And there was a risk of accidents if the counterfeit products were substandard and non-compliant with industry standards. In that case, Vallourec would be held responsible. The Group also risked losing customers drawn to cheaper products.

02

A 2-step process to verify and authenticate

In 2017, Vallourec called on Olnica to help develop a double brand-protection solution for Vallourec, called Valguard.

As Vallourec tubes come off the manufacturing line, they are issued a unique certificate. These describe the properties of each tube, and are used as a first-phase check on the validity of Vallourec products. Each certificate is given a QR code, and is digitized by Olnica, storing time-stamped data in the Olnica Cloud. In the field, any worker can now check the validity of the code with a smartphone app.

Then the pipes themselves are authenticated. A uniquely coded Olnica Taggant is applied to the surface of the pipes in the mill. Using Olnica’s Pocket Lab sensor and the Authenticate smartphone app, anyone along the supply chain can now check the pipes’ origins beyond doubt. And weed out substandard pipes that shady vendors may try to smuggle into the supply chain.