Bundeskartellamt imposes fine against road salt manufacturers
12.11.2008
The Bundeskartellamt has imposed a fine totalling 15.6 million euros against Südsalz GmbH, Heilbronn for participating in an anticompetitive agreement in the road salt market. During the period from mid 1998 to mid 2007, Südsalz AG, together with Wacker-Chemie AG and two companies operating as distributors on its behalf (Biesterfeld Chemiedistribution GmbH and Biesterfeld Graen GmbH & Co. KG), had agreed sales prices for road salt in southern Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The agreement also served to carve up the distribution areas in southern Germany. As a result around two-thirds of the market volume in Baden-Württemberg and around half of the market volume in Bavaria were allocated to Südsalz GmbH. However, the administrative order imposing the fine against Südsalz GmbH is not yet final. The company can appeal against the decision at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
The Bundeskartellamt has dispensed with imposing a fine against the other companies involved because they admitted to the agreement and their involvement in it in an application for leniency (see the Bundeskartellamt’s Leniency Programme of 7 March 2006).
The Bundeskartellamt is currently conducting further proceedings involving the road salt markets in Hesse, Thuringia, Saxony, northern Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Investigations are still ongoing.