Glass cartel settlements confirmed
TWO members of the glass cartel — Glass South Africa and National Glass Distributors — have settled with the Competition Commission and had their settlement agreements confirmed on Thursday.
The Competition Tribunal in June confirmed the R2.4m settlement agreement between the Competition Commission and McCoy’s Glass. The matter will not be referred to the tribunal as reported on Friday.
The case against two other members of the cartel that existed from 1995 to 2007 has been referred to the Competition Tribunal for a hearing.
The commission said its investigation, which started in 2010, showed that Glass South Africa, National Glass, Northern Hardware & Glass, Furman Glass, McCoy’s Glass and AF-FSL Glass fixed minimum selling prices.
They also fixed the percentage by which minimum prices would increase and the date for the implementation of the fixed prices.
The cartel allegedly operated in Gauteng, the Free State and the Western Cape.
The products involved included: float glass, necessary for the manufacturing of windows; laminated glass, a type of safety glass used in vehicle windshields and skylight glazing; and toughened glass, which crumbles into granular chunks and is used in passenger vehicle windows, shower doors, refrigerator trays and various types of plates and cookware.
According to the information supplied, cartel meetings took place in hotels, pubs and even on boat trips to Zimbabwe to fix prices, carve up markets and fix trading conditions among cartel members.
The commission’s investigation showed cartel members also agreed in 2005 to introduce a distribution or transport levy of 3% of the price charged to customers.
Af-FSL Glass was granted immunity from prosecution after approaching the commission in 2009 with information regarding the activities of the cartel.
The tribunal in June confirmed a R2.4m settlement agreement between the Competition Commission and McCoy’s Glass.
Glass SA has admitted to the conduct and agreed to pay an administrative penalty of R4.4m and National Glass will pay R414,615. They agreed to co-operate with the commission in its case against Northern Hardware & Glass and Furman Glass.
The tribunal is yet set a date for the hearings.
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