Belgian Competition Council fines three cement companies and two associations

The Belgian Competition Council has fined three cement producers and two associations for colluding to restrict access for new entrants to the Belgian cement market. The allegations date back to a period between May 2000 and October 2003 when the BCC alleges that the parties attempted to delay the adoption of a license and standards that would make it possible to use Ground Granulated Blastfurnace Slag (GGBS) as a component of ready-mix concrete.

The three cement producers – namely CBR (part of the Heidelberg Group), CCB (a subsidiary of Italcementi) and Holcim Belgium – together with FEBELCEM and the National Center for Technical and Scientific Research for the Cement Industry (CRIC/OCCN) have been fined a total of €14 700 000.

The BCC claims that the parties were trying to protect their commercial interests by delaying the import of GGBS by a producer called ORCEM, which has presented the additive as a substitute for cement.

Adapted from press release by Katherine Guenioui