The issues of counterfeit refrigerants and illegally imported gases have pulsated throughout the industry this year with the steadiest beat of concern coming from DuPont. The refrigerant manufacturer has relentlessly pursued legal action using customs and law enforcement officials to stop counterfeiters and importers of illegal gases. But DuPont went well beyond on enforcement activities in the market. The company has also focused on the development and incorporation of product validation technologies on its packaging so users can easily confirm the product they are buying is an authentic DuPont-supplied refrigerant. One example of such developments is a labeling technology for canisters to verify the legitimacy of refrigerants being purchased by contractors.
Among those within the DuPont company closely involved in this multifaceted initiative is Elizabeth Sassano, global marketing manager for DuPont. She has led the global brand protection program for DuPont for the past two years and has been actively developing tools to highlight the criticality of this effort, even creating a four-minute video — available on YouTube — explaining the concerns related to this industry issue and the new technology from DuPont.