I found this on hoseheads forum.... SFI is supposedly a "non-profit" organization....

This is just copied and pasted....

First I will say, I am a long time user of Simpson race products, and have a deal to run Simpson for 2010. Got a sweet carbon fiber helmet, and custom suit on the way! That's another story though.

My experience with impact products has been very limited. I have a set of impact belts in the car, which are very high quality. Bill Simpson has done more for racing safety than ANYONE in the business with his innovations and inventions.

Do I think it is right to "forge" sfi tags? No. But I am sure there are two sides to every story as well. SFI is a "non-profit" company, and it is also the standard which rule books are written for minimum standards on a specific duty. Ever notice how the tags state "MANUFACTURER certified"? Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't that infer that each individual manufacturer tests their OWN product and certifies that it meets the minimum standards set by SFI? How does this work? Do the manufacturers do their own testing, then provide documentation on the testing to sfi then PURCHASE tags to use? if I am correct with that understanding, it seems to me that since ALL rule books specify SFI certification, SFI can charge whatever they want for the tags, and force the manufacturers to pay this money.

So, admittedly there are a lot of assumptions in my thinking here...but answer this, if the equipment meets the spec AS SPECIFIED AND TESTED BY THE MANUFACTURER, is it THAT big of a deal that someone got their tags elsewhere if they felt they were being "bribed" by SFI? I'd be MUCH more interested in seeing tests showing that the equipment wasn't properly tested vs. some crap over a tag.

Another thing to consider, just because SFI is non-profit, don't think for a minute someone couldn't be making a ton of money off of this. Just because the company doesn't show a profit doesn't mean the officers and employees of said companies aren't making large salaries. I could be wrong on all this, but it smells of ****. The reports for non profit companies are available...can someone look it up and post it?

To answer my own question, per tax returns filed the presedent/CEO for last year claimed a salary of $198,825 with additional "other income" from the foundation of $35,426. How's that for non-profit? Assets listed at 1.34m This is kinda like the mob...regardless whether the equipment meets the minimum specs or not, SFI didn't get their cut so they are railroading Bill Simpson.

http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990_...00906_990O.pdf