Bosch has been trying to obtain injunctions against some of these companies in U.S. federal courts, with some success. Bosch tells Aftermarket Business World: "The ITC complaint is an effort to speed up the process of getting an injunction against multiple infringing wiper suppliers."
Bosch aftermarket beam wiper blades are sold in aftermarket retail outlets under names such as ICON, Evolution, Marathon and Aerotwin. All these replacements are manufactured outside the U.S., as are the aftermarket wipers sold by U.S. distributors such as Cequent Consumer Products, RainEater, LLC, Pylon Manufacturing Corp., and Winplus North America, Inc. and others, all named in the ITC complaint. All those U.S. distributors import their blades from either South Korea or China.
Matthew Scruggs, industry analyst, Frost and Sullivan, says the market for aftermarket beam wiper blades was $420 million in 2010 and is estimated to grow to $621 million in 2011 as more OEMs use the beam blades, which are more expensive than conventional and snow blades. The beam market is dominated by Aamco and Trico, with Bosch's share at about 15-20 percent, according to Scruggs' estimation. Bosch declined to provide its market share.
The blades sold by the U.S. distributers named by Bosch in the ITC complaint are generally at the low-end of the price market, and account for somewhere around 5-7 percent of the beam market, explains Scruggs. "The actual scope of who would allegedly be violating the Bosch patents is not huge, so if Bosch were successful at the ITC it wouldn't turn the industry on its head. But it would be a significant event," he says.
The elimination of Korean- and Chinese-made beam wipers would probably be felt most significantly at smaller aftermarket stores in rural areas, which tend to carry less expensive items. But to the extent that stores such as Advance Auto Parts, a distributor of RainEater wiper blades, are no longer able to carry some cheaper beam imports, their customers may decide to go back to conventional or winter wiper blades because of price.
Shelly Whitaker, manager of public communications for Advance Auto Parts, declines to comment on the implications of the Bosch ITC complaint.
Some of the U.S. distributors have already pulled back on sales of products mentioned in the Bosch ITC complaint. Chuck Tornabene, president, Pylon, says he does not sell Michelin and Dupont beam wiper blades anymore. Pylon has applied for a patent for its hybrid blade technology, which takes advantage of the benefits of a conventional blade, that is its superior tip-to-tip wiping ability, with the sleeker appearance of a beam blade, which also has better all-weather characteristics. Tornabene believes hybrids — not beam blades — are the future, and OEMs, especially the Asian auto manufacturers, are already using them.
Other U.S. distributors are continuing to try to expand sales. Lance Thornton, president of RainEater, which sells beam blades at Advance Auto Parts, Auto Value, Auto-Lab and other aftermarket retail locations, emphasizes his "frameless" wipers — frameless and beam are used interchangeably — do not infringe on Bosch patents.
Thornton argues that RainEater's strength is in its marketing, where its sponsorship of NASCAR events helps raise its profile and drive new customers to aftermarket retailers who carry RainEater blades. Last year, Thornton put the No. 47 NASCAR Sprint Cup Show Car driven by Bobby Labonte in a 25-foot trailer and pulled it with his 2011 Ford F-350 to five different Advance stores per week for six weeks through three different states.
Bosch has been trying to obtain injunctions against some of these companies in U.S. federal courts, with some success. Bosch tells Aftermarket Business World: "The ITC complaint is an effort to speed up the process of getting an injunction against multiple infringing wiper suppliers."
Bosch aftermarket beam wiper blades are sold in aftermarket retail outlets under names such as ICON, Evolution, Marathon and Aerotwin. All these replacements are manufactured outside the U.S., as are the aftermarket wipers sold by U.S. distributors such as Cequent Consumer Products, RainEater, LLC, Pylon Manufacturing Corp., and Winplus North America, Inc. and others, all named in the ITC complaint. All those U.S. distributors import their blades from either South Korea or China.
Matthew Scruggs, industry analyst, Frost and Sullivan, says the market for aftermarket beam wiper blades was $420 million in 2010 and is estimated to grow to $621 million in 2011 as more OEMs use the beam blades, which are more expensive than conventional and snow blades. The beam market is dominated by Aamco and Trico, with Bosch's share at about 15-20 percent, according to Scruggs' estimation. Bosch declined to provide its market share.
The blades sold by the U.S. distributers named by Bosch in the ITC complaint are generally at the low-end of the price market, and account for somewhere around 5-7 percent of the beam market, explains Scruggs. "The actual scope of who would allegedly be violating the Bosch patents is not huge, so if Bosch were successful at the ITC it wouldn't turn the industry on its head. But it would be a significant event," he says.
The elimination of Korean- and Chinese-made beam wipers would probably be felt most significantly at smaller aftermarket stores in rural areas, which tend to carry less expensive items. But to the extent that stores such as Advance Auto Parts, a distributor of RainEater wiper blades, are no longer able to carry some cheaper beam imports, their customers may decide to go back to conventional or winter wiper blades because of price.
Shelly Whitaker, manager of public communications for Advance Auto Parts, declines to comment on the implications of the Bosch ITC complaint.
Some of the U.S. distributors have already pulled back on sales of products mentioned in the Bosch ITC complaint. Chuck Tornabene, president, Pylon, says he does not sell Michelin and Dupont beam wiper blades anymore. Pylon has applied for a patent for its hybrid blade technology, which takes advantage of the benefits of a conventional blade, that is its superior tip-to-tip wiping ability, with the sleeker appearance of a beam blade, which also has better all-weather characteristics. Tornabene believes hybrids — not beam blades — are the future, and OEMs, especially the Asian auto manufacturers, are already using them.
Other U.S. distributors are continuing to try to expand sales. Lance Thornton, president of RainEater, which sells beam blades at Advance Auto Parts, Auto Value, Auto-Lab and other aftermarket retail locations, emphasizes his "frameless" wipers — frameless and beam are used interchangeably — do not infringe on Bosch patents.
Thornton argues that RainEater's strength is in its marketing, where its sponsorship of NASCAR events helps raise its profile and drive new customers to aftermarket retailers who carry RainEater blades. Last year, Thornton put the No. 47 NASCAR Sprint Cup Show Car driven by Bobby Labonte in a 25-foot trailer and pulled it with his 2011 Ford F-350 to five different Advance stores per week for six weeks through three different states.
