The EC upon a detailed investigation found that Italian abrasives producer Pometon S.p.A ('Pometon') breached antitrust rules by participating in a cartel to coordinate steel abrasives prices in Europe for almost four years. The EC has found that for almost 4 years, Pometon participated in a cartel and had contacts on a bilateral and multilateral basis to coordinate prices of steel abrasives in the whole European Economic Area (EEA).The cartel concerned steel abrasives, which are loose steel particles used for cleaning or enhancing metal surfaces in the steel, automotive, metallurgy and petrochemical industries. They are also used for cutting hard stones such as granite and marble. Metal scrap, which is the main raw material for steel abrasives, is characterised by sharp price fluctuations as well as significant price differences between the EEA countries. To compensate for such fluctuations, the cartel participants set up together a specific surcharge (called the "scrap surcharge" or "scrap cost variance (SCV)") based on a common formula. In addition, the cartelists agreed not to compete against each other on price with respect to individual customers.
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