The Bundeskartellamt has imposed fines totalling € 13.36 million on the building materials trade cooperations hagebau and Eurobaustoff as well as on two specialised trade associations, Verband Norddeutscher Baustoffhändler and Baustoff-Fachhandel Landsberg, formally the Federation of the German Trade with Building Materials (BDB), and on four persons for their involvement in anticompetitive agreements to charge set-up fees for dry mortar silos. Already in July 2009 the Bundeskartellamt had imposed fines of almost € 40 million on nine manufacturers of mortar (see press release of 3 July 2009).
Between January 2004 and the end of 2005 almost the entire mortal sector had concluded various agreements to charge a “set-up fee” as of 2006 for erecting dry mortar silos. The costs for the silos, which had hitherto been included in the mortar price, were now being demanded in addition to the mortar price. In the course of the introduction of this set-up fee, the trade co-operations and associations involved had promised their support with implementing this agreement and had also agreed with the mortar manufacturers on a uniform revenue charge on the set-up fee to their advantage. The agreements, which were implemented at the beginning of 2006, concerned the sale of dry mortar silos across Germany.
Also in these proceedings the guidelines on the setting of fines issued by the Bundeskartellamt on 15 September, 2006, which reflect the increase in the level of fines from 2005, were applied.
The decisions imposing the fines are not yet final. The companies and individuals concerned can appeal against the decisions at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.