Bundeskartellamt concludes cartel proceedings against manufacturers of concrete pipes and imposes first fines in the proceedings on concrete paving stones

01.03.2012

The Bundeskartellamt has concluded its cartel proceedings against manufacturers of concrete pipes and shafts for sewage systems. In August 2011 the authority had already imposed fines totalling more than EUR 11 million against Berding Beton GmbH, Steinfeld, and Betonwerk Bieren GmbH, Bad Oeynhausen (cf. press release of 10 August 2011). Today it imposed further fines of, in total, just over one million Euros on eight companies and their representatives.

At the same time, the Bundeskartellamt has imposed first fines on companies and their representatives in the proceedings against manufacturers of standard concrete paving stones. These total more than EUR 1.9 million.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, stated: "The illegal agreements on concrete pipes and paving stones have restricted competition for many years. The Bundeskartellamt takes stringent action against all cartel agreements, also in medium-sized and regional markets. We intend to press ahead with the ongoing proceedings in the paving stone sector as well."

Today fines were imposed against the following manufacturers of concrete pipes: Berding Beton GmbH, Steinfeld; Beton Tille GmbH, Horn-Bad Meinberg; Betonwerk Kuschmierz GmbH & Co. KG, Oststeinbek; BWV Betonwaren- und Verbundsteinwerk Lehnen GmbH & Co. KG, Lachendorf; "KLEI-HUES" Betonbauteile GmbH & Co. KG, Emsbüren; Schröder Bauzentrum GmbH, Heide & Co. KG, Heide; Rolf Pöthmann Handelsgesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Vienenburg and Wilhelm Siemsen GmbH & Co. KG, Eckernförde. The investigative proceedings against five other manufacturers have been discontinued.

The detected cartel agreements were mainly price fixing and customer allocation agreements that were to a large extent bilateral. They were applied during different intervals between February 2006 and February 2010 in several regions in the federal states of Lower-Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg.

Today the Bundeskartellamt also imposed fines against four manufacturers on account of illegal agreements on standard concrete paving stones and platform edges. The companies concerned are Lithonplus GmbH & Co. KG, Lingenfeld; Railbeton Haas KG, Chemnitz; Schröder Bauzentrum GmbH, Heide & Co. KG and Wilhelm Siemsen GmbH & Co. KG. The proceedings were triggered by the leniency application of Berding Beton GmbH. In accordance with the Bundeskartellamt's Leniency Programme, no fine was imposed on Berding. Further investigations against several other manufacturers are still ongoing.

The companies primarily agreed on product prices and carved up supply areas among themselves. The agreements were applied during several intervals between January 2006 and February 2010 in several regions in Germany, mostly in the north and east.

Fines are generally calculated according to the seriousness and duration of the cartel law violation. In setting its fines, the Bundeskartellamt also always takes account of the economic viability of the individual company and, with regard to the financial obligation imposed on the cartel members, can make use of measures such as deferment of payment and payment in installments. Most of the companies have cooperated with the Bundeskartellamt in the proceedings that were concluded today, which has led to a reduction of their fines in line with the authority's Leniency Programme.

In the majority of the cases the decisions imposing the fines are not yet final and can be appealed against at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court. However, an agreement was reached with most of the companies and their representatives to end the proceedings by settlement. Logo: Offene Märkte | Fairer Wettbewerb

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