Chicony Electronics Co (群光電子) said on Saturday that it did not import power bank models from Anker Innovations Co (安克創新) that were voluntarily recalled by the Chinese manufacturer due to fire hazard concerns.
Chicony, one of Anker’s two agents in Taiwan, said that it did not import any of the seven recalled power bank models.
However, Anker’s other Taiwan agent, Weblink International Inc (展碁國際), has not made any statements regarding whether it had introduced the devices to the market.
Photo: Screen grab from Anker Innovations Co’s US Web site
On Friday, Anker issued a notice on its Chinese Web site saying it was recalling power banks from the A1642, A1647, A1652, A1680, A1681, A1689 and A1257 series. The recall would result in the return of 712,964 units globally, after its power banks have recently been at the center of fire hazards and accidents.
A notice released by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on June 12 said that the commission requested the recall of 1.158 million power banks from Anker’s A1263 series and urged consumers to stop using the products immediately due to the high risk of combustion and burns.
The CPSC notice indicated that Anker had received 19 reports from consumers that its power banks were causing fires or explosions.
Two incidents had resulted in minor injuries that did not need medical attention, while 11 caused property damage totaling US$60,000.
Anker offered customers three recall options: a full refund, a free upgrade to a newer model or a shopping voucher equal to the original purchase price plus an additional 50 yuan (US$6.96).
The recall decision was made after its safety inspections found that one of its suppliers had changed the materials used to manufacture the battery cells without obtaining Anker’s approval.
The change could lead to a loss in the effectiveness of separator insulators in some products and cause the device to overheat, which results in safety concerns, Anker said.
Anker’s power bank failures mark the second time a Chinese brand has reported defective issues over the past few months.
Romoss Technology Co (羅馬仕科技), a Shenzhen-based charging solution provider, also issued a recall for 491,745 units from three of its power bank models on April 14, after the brand was found to have caused fire hazards across China.
Aside from prompting Chinese to post videos online of Romoss power banks catching fire, one of the company’s devices also caused an accident midair on March 20 during a flight between China and Hong Kong when it caught fire.
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