The European Commission has found that Italian abrasives producer Pometon S.p.A. breached EU antitrust rules by participating in a cartel to coordinate steel abrasives prices in Europe for almost four years. The Commission has imposed a fine of € 6 197 000.
In April 2014, the Commission adopted a settlement decision concerning the participation in the same cartel of Ervin, Winoa, Metalltechnik Schmidt and Eisenwerk Würth. Pometon chose not to settle and consequently the investigation continued under the normal cartel procedure. In December 2014, the Commission sent Pometon a statement of objections, giving it the opportunity to exercise its rights of defence...
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in charge of competition policy said: "The steel abrasives cartel adversely affected a wide range of European manufacturing industries to the ultimate detriment of consumers. Today's decision once again shows the Commission's determination to sanction cartels and impose fines on all participants."
The Commission has found that for almost 4 years, Pometon participated in a cartel and had contacts on a bilateral and multilateral basis to coordinate prices of steel abrasives in the whole European Economic Area (EEA).
The cartel concerned steel abrasives, which are loose steel particles used for cleaning or enhancing metal surfaces in the steel, automotive, metallurgy and petrochemical industries. They are also used for cutting hard stones such as granite and marble.
Metal scrap, which is the main raw material for steel abrasives, is characterised by sharp price fluctuations as well as significant price differences between the EEA countries. To compensate for such fluctuations, the cartel participants set up together a specific surcharge (called the "scrap surcharge" or "scrap cost variance (SCV)") based on a common formula. In addition, the cartelists agreed not to compete against each other on price with respect to individual customers.
Fines
The fine was set on the basis of the Commission's 2006 Guidelines on fines (see IP/06/857 and MEMO/06/256). As in the settlement decision concerning the same cartel, the Commission took into account, in particular, the company's sales of the products concerned in the EEA, the serious nature of the infringement, its geographic scope and its duration, the appropriate level of deterrence.
The fine imposed on Pometon is € 6 197 000.
