The investigation will take several years and the results were eagerly awaited. Now the competition Commission (Comco) has decided: she fines concrete and gravel producers in the city of Bern and its surroundings, as it is called in a message from Thursday.
The accusations weigh heavily: The Alluvia group and the Kästli group have agreed according to the Comco, their prices and their delivery coordinated areas. So they weakened the competitive and difficult entry of competitors on the market. The competition Commission has the Alluvia and Kästli-group with a total of approximately 22 million Swiss francs fined.
The two groups of companies granted according to the Comco for their clients and customers certain benefits only if they moved all the gravel and concrete. For the calculation and payment of the discounts and perks you operate also a common collection, about the they exchanged detailed quantity and price information.
cartel cost the Canton of millions of
The price-fixing agreements were, among others, at the expense of the tax payer. According to a previously published report of the financial control of the Canton of Bern has paid for a year between 3 and 5 million Swiss francs too much for gravel and concrete – a total of up to 25 million in the last five years. In addition, the report criticized the interfaces to the competent Offices of the Canton as a “diffuse” and spoke of a lack of controls.
commercial fencing decision
the decision of The Comco can to the Federal administrative court are drawn. Want to do the Kästli AG and the Alluvia AG, as you write, each in separate releases on Thursday.
The Kästli AG dismissed all the allegations, the competition Commission relating to antitrust misconduct to the full extent: You have to act at all times to the best of our Knowledge and belief, lawful.
Chairman of the Board Daniel Kästli, with the words, quote, the decision was based on “irritating incomplete and in part, simply wrong surveys”. The allegations were not correct. The Whole was not a fair and independent Process worthy of the message. It sounds from Alluvia: The allegations were baseless and would be rejected. Already, the investigation of the gravel market in Bern by the COMCO Secretariat is irritating incomplete and deficient.
suspicion since 2014
According to the “Federal”searches, the competition Commission, in 2014 opened proceedings against several companies in the gravel sector from the area of Bern-Thun. The competition Commission came across evidence that the company made price and quantity agreements, trading partners discriminated against and that illegal contracts had been completed.
a Short time later, the business review Commission (GPK) of the Grand Council intervened and the management of independent financial control in March, gave the order a special audit. In particular, the question of whether the Canton could have paid for construction projects to much. The Canton of Berne is the most important customer of the Bernese gravel and landfill companies.
Other companies
examines The company Alluvia and Kästli may not be the only company to be fined by the competition Commission. Further proceedings, including the Marti group, are still pending. (The Federal government)
Created: 28.02.2019, 07:55 PM