SylvanSport: Chinese Builder Copied Product

Brevard, N.C.-based SylvanSport LLC has learned that Wuyi Tiandi Motion Apparatus Co. Ltd. (TDR MOTO), a manufacturing company operating out of Zhejiang, China has begun manufacturing and selling counterfeit versions of the popular SylvanSport GO, according to a press release.

Designed and manufactured entirely in the U.S., the SylvanSport GO is a lightweight, reconfigurable, camping and utility trailer that has been widely praised for its innovative design features. The GO “was copied down to the color scheme and even the marketing support materials,” said Tom Dempsey, founder and president of Sylvan Sport.

Sylvan Sport said that “this is an unusually blatant example illustrating the increasing problem of many of China’s most accomplished companies achieving their success by pilfering the intellectual property of other industrialized nations.”

The company claims that in the case of SylvanSport – whose three original reconfigurable US travel trailer patents (566623, 566624 and 566625) were filed in 2007 (along with a subsequent PCT[i]) – a customer purchased a GO camper from the North Carolina factory in 2009, shipped the unit to Los Angeles and subsequently dispatched it to mainland China, where it is now being manufactured by the Wuyi Tiandi Motion Apparatus Co. The reverse-engineered “TDR Camper” is currently being offered on Alibaba.com – a Hangzhou, China-based retail Internet business (HKSE: 1688).

Sylvan Sport said that China remains on the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Priority Watch List. The latter currently includes 12 U.S. trading partners – China, Russia, Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, Thailand, and Venezuela – who are deemed to be providing an inadequate “level of IPR protection or enforcement, or market access for persons relying on intellectual property protection.”

To speak with SylvanSport about this or any other questions, contact Kyle Mundt at (828) 883-4292 or info@sylvansport.com

 

 

Trailer Maker SylvanSport Seeks Strategic Options

SylvanSport, the North Carolina-based maker of mobile adventure gear, recently engaged Silver Steep Partners to serve as its exclusive financial adviser and to review the company’s strategic options, according to a news release.

The company designs and manufactures a line of outdoor adventure/utility trailers. The company’s flagship model, the SylvanSport GO, is a mobile camping trailer and gear hauler for outdoor enthusiasts. The award-winning GO can also be customized for military and law enforcementand non-governmental agency work such as forward operating posts, crime scene command posts, medical stations and disaster team recovery sites.

Tom Dempsey, founder of SylvanSport said, “We have had significant growth, even through the recession, but continue to be limited in our ability to execute those growth plans to the fullest based on the current, post-financial crisis lending market. We’ve asked Silver Steep to help us better understand our options and to help in either finding growth capital or a partner that can provide such growth capital.”

Nathan Pund, president of Silver Steep Partners, said, “SylvanSport is a wonderful company with a capable team. It has developed unique products that tap into durable market shifts. This has positioned the company well for future growth through a growing worldwide customer base. And it doesn’t hurt that their products are a lot of fun.”