Commission Decision of 18 July 2001 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 of the EC Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement Case COMP/E-1/36.490 Graphite electrodes(notified under document number C(2001) 1986) (1)

16.4.2002 EN L 100/1Official Journal of the European Communities II (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 18 July 2001 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 of the EC Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement Case COMP/E-1/36.490 -- Graphite electrodes (notified under document number C(2001) 1986) (Only the English and German texts are authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2002/271/EC) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 2842/98 of 22 December THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 1998 on the hearing of parties in certain proceedings under Articles 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty (3),

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European ComHaving consulted the Advisory Committee on Restrictivemunity,

Practices and Dominant Positions,

Whereas:Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, 1. THE FACTS Having regard to Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962, first Regulation implementing Articles 85 and 86 of the 1.1. SUMMARY OF THE INFRINGEMENTTreaty (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1216/1999 (2), and in particular Articles 3 and 15 thereof, (1) This Decision imposing fines for an infringement of Article 81 of the Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Having regard to the Commission's decision of 24 January Agreement is addressed to the following undertakings:

2000 to initiate proceedings in this case, -- SGL Carbon AG (`SGL') Having given the undertakings concerned the opportunity to -- UCAR International Inc. (`UCAR') make known their views on the objections raised by the Commission pursuant to Article 19(1) of Regulation No 17 -- VAW Aluminium AG (`VAW') -- Showa Denko K.K. (`Showa Denko') (1) OJ 13, 21.2.1962, p. 204/62.

(2) OJ L 148, 15.6.1999, p. 5. (3) OJ L 354, 30.12.1998, p. 18.

L 100/2 EN 16.4.2002Official Journal of the European Communities -- Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd (`Tokai') 1.2. THE GRAPHITE ELECTRODES INDUSTRY -- Nippon Carbon Co., Ltd (`Nippon') -- SEC Corporation (`SEC') 1.2.1. THE PRODUCT MARKET -- Carbide/Graphite Group, Inc. (`C/G').

(4) Graphite electrodes are ceramic-moulded columns of (2) The infringement consists in the participation of the graphite used primarily in the production of steel in producers of graphite electrodes in a continuing agree- electric arc furnaces, also referred to as `mini-mills'. The ment and/or concerted practice contrary to Article 81(1) electric are process currently accounts for some 35 % of of the Treaty and (from 1 January 1994) Article 53(1) steel production in the Community and its share is of the EEA Agreement, covering the whole of the increasing. Electric arc furnace steelmaking is essentially Community and Norway, Austria, Sweden, Finland, by a recycling process whereby scrap steel is converted into which they: new steel. Electrodes can be up to 700 mm (30 inches) in diameter and 2 800 mm (9 feet) in length and weigh up to 2 200 kg. The electrodes form part of the roof-- fixed the prices of the product, structure of the furnace. After the furnace is filled with selected scrap, the electrodes are lowered until the tips -- agreed on and implemented a mechanism for almost touch the scrap. Electricity is passed into the implementing price increases, electrodes and jumps from the electrode tip to the scrap steel. As conductors of electricity, graphite electrodes generate sufficient heat (up to 3 000 °C) to melt scrap -- allocated markets and market share quotas, steel and further refine molten steel into a finished product. Nine electrodes, joined in columns of three, are used in the average three-phase AC electric arc furnace-- agreed not to increase production capacity, to melt scrap steel. Because of the intensity of the melting process, one electrode is consumed approximately every -- agreed not to transfer technology outside the circle eight hours.

of cartel participants, -- set up machinery for monitoring and enforcing their agreements.

(5) Graphite electrodes are produced using special `needle' coke, a by-product of the oil industry, and coal tar pitch. The manufacturing process has six steps, namely (3) The undertakings participated in the infringement during forming, baking, impregnation, rebaking, graphitising the following periods: and machining. During graphitising the product is heated electrically to over 3 000 °C and is physically transformed into graphite, the crystalline form of the -- SGL: from May 1992 to March 1998 carbon and a unique material with low electrical but high heat conductivity, high strength and performance at high temperature that makes it suitable for use in-- UCAR: from May 1992 to March 1998 electric arc furnaces. The processing time for an electrode is approximately two months. There are no product -- VAW: from May 1992 to at least the end of 1996 substitutes for graphite electrodes.

-- Showa Denko: from May 1992 to at least April 1997

1.2.2. SUPPLY OF GRAPHITE ELECTRODES-- Tokai: from May 1992 to February 1998 -- Nippon: from May 1992...

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