Wednesday July 22, 12:19 PM
EU fines chemicals firms for price fixing
BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Union's top competition regulator announced Wednesday that it had fined nine chemicals suppliers for price fixing and operating a cartel.
"The European Commission has imposed a total of 61,120,000 euros in fines on nine companies... for violating the (EU) ban on cartels and restrictive business practices," the regulator, the commission, said in a statement.
It said the companies fixed prices and shared markets for calcium carbide powder, calcium carbide granulates and magnesium granulates in a substantial part of Europe's economic area between 2004 and 2007.
Brussels named the nine as: Almamet, Donau Chemie, Ecka Granulate, Holding Slovenske elektrarne (for its former subsidiary TDR Metalurgija), Novacke chemicke zavody and its former parent 1.garantovana, SKW Stahl-Metallurgie (Xetra: SKWM01 - news) and former parent companies Evonik Degussa and Arques industries (Xetra: 515600 - news) .
Calcium carbide is a compound used to make acetylene gas, a common industrial gas used in metal work. It is also used as a dehydrating agent and in the manufacture of graphite and hydrogen.
Both it and magnesium powder can be used to boost the quality of steel.
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