• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • Capacitors
  • Resistors
  • Inductors
  • Filters
  • Fuses
  • Non-linear Passives
  • Applications
  • Integrated Passives
  • Oscillators
  • Passive Sensors
  • New Technologies
  • Aerospace & Defence
  • Automotive
  • Industrial
  • Market & Supply Chain
  • Medical
  • RF & Microwave
  • Telecommunication

EU Slaps 9 Companies With €254 million Fine in Capacitor Cartel

21.3.2018

Skeleton Curved Graphene Scientists Named as European Inventor Award 2022 Finalists

18.5.2022

Flexible Cable Supercapacitor Application in EVs and HEVs

17.5.2022

Snubber Capacitor Selection for SiC-Based Switching Converters

17.5.2022

Vishay Releases High Precision Compact Thin Film Wraparound Chip Resistor 

17.5.2022
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • EPCI Advertisement & Membership
  • About
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Passive Components Blog
  • Home
  • NewsFilter
    • All
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Antenna
    • Applications
    • Automotive
    • Capacitors
    • Filters
    • Fuses
    • Inductors
    • Industrial
    • Integrated Passives
    • Market & Supply Chain
    • Medical
    • New Materials & Supply
    • New Technologies
    • Non-linear Passives
    • Oscillators
    • Passive Sensors
    • Resistors
    • RF & Microwave
    • Telecommunication

    Skeleton Curved Graphene Scientists Named as European Inventor Award 2022 Finalists

    Flexible Cable Supercapacitor Application in EVs and HEVs

    Snubber Capacitor Selection for SiC-Based Switching Converters

    Vishay Releases High Precision Compact Thin Film Wraparound Chip Resistor 

    TAIYO YUDEN Launches Wire-Wound Automotive Power Inductors

    Skeleton Announces Agreement with Polish ZPUE for Rail Energy Storage Solutions

    European Electronic Components Distribution Under Strong Demand and Allocation in Q1 2022

    Tecate Releases Small-Cell 3V Supercapacitors

    3D Systems to Deliver 3D Printed RF Components for Satellite Applications

    Trending Tags

    • Ripple Current
    • RF
    • Leakage Current
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
    • Snubber
    • Low ESR
    • Feedthrough
    • Derating
    • Dielectric Constant
    • New Products
    • Market Reports
  • VideoFilter
    • All
    • Antenna videos
    • Capacitor videos
    • Filter videos
    • Fuse videos
    • Inductor videos
    • Non-linear passives videos
    • Oscillator videos
    • Passive sensors videos
    • Resistor videos
    • Sensors

    Soldering THT Components by SMD Reflow Assembly; WE Webinar

    Strain Gage Resistive Sensor Simulation; Vishay Video

    EMC Filters Explained – from Component to Design; WE Webinar

    How to Avoid EMI Noise on Data Cable by Isolated Power Module; WE askLorandt Video

    Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer; WE Webinar

    How to Pass Conducted Emissions Using Line Filters; WE Webinar

    EMI Debugging of a Low Power Buck Converter; WE Webinar

    Flat Wire Inductors for Electrical Cars; WE Webinar

    Ferrite Filter Features and Selection Guide; WE Webinar

    Trending Tags

    • Capacitors explained
    • Inductors explained
    • Resistors explained
    • Filters explained
    • Application Video Guidelines
    • EMC
    • New Products
    • Ripple Current
    • Simulation
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
  • Knowledge Blog
  • Preferred Suppliers
  • Who is Who
  • Events
  • Home
  • NewsFilter
    • All
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Antenna
    • Applications
    • Automotive
    • Capacitors
    • Filters
    • Fuses
    • Inductors
    • Industrial
    • Integrated Passives
    • Market & Supply Chain
    • Medical
    • New Materials & Supply
    • New Technologies
    • Non-linear Passives
    • Oscillators
    • Passive Sensors
    • Resistors
    • RF & Microwave
    • Telecommunication

    Skeleton Curved Graphene Scientists Named as European Inventor Award 2022 Finalists

    Flexible Cable Supercapacitor Application in EVs and HEVs

    Snubber Capacitor Selection for SiC-Based Switching Converters

    Vishay Releases High Precision Compact Thin Film Wraparound Chip Resistor 

    TAIYO YUDEN Launches Wire-Wound Automotive Power Inductors

    Skeleton Announces Agreement with Polish ZPUE for Rail Energy Storage Solutions

    European Electronic Components Distribution Under Strong Demand and Allocation in Q1 2022

    Tecate Releases Small-Cell 3V Supercapacitors

    3D Systems to Deliver 3D Printed RF Components for Satellite Applications

    Trending Tags

    • Ripple Current
    • RF
    • Leakage Current
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
    • Snubber
    • Low ESR
    • Feedthrough
    • Derating
    • Dielectric Constant
    • New Products
    • Market Reports
  • VideoFilter
    • All
    • Antenna videos
    • Capacitor videos
    • Filter videos
    • Fuse videos
    • Inductor videos
    • Non-linear passives videos
    • Oscillator videos
    • Passive sensors videos
    • Resistor videos
    • Sensors

    Soldering THT Components by SMD Reflow Assembly; WE Webinar

    Strain Gage Resistive Sensor Simulation; Vishay Video

    EMC Filters Explained – from Component to Design; WE Webinar

    How to Avoid EMI Noise on Data Cable by Isolated Power Module; WE askLorandt Video

    Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer; WE Webinar

    How to Pass Conducted Emissions Using Line Filters; WE Webinar

    EMI Debugging of a Low Power Buck Converter; WE Webinar

    Flat Wire Inductors for Electrical Cars; WE Webinar

    Ferrite Filter Features and Selection Guide; WE Webinar

    Trending Tags

    • Capacitors explained
    • Inductors explained
    • Resistors explained
    • Filters explained
    • Application Video Guidelines
    • EMC
    • New Products
    • Ripple Current
    • Simulation
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
  • Knowledge Blog
  • Preferred Suppliers
  • Who is Who
  • Events
No Result
View All Result
Passive Components Blog
No Result
View All Result

EU Slaps 9 Companies With €254 million Fine in Capacitor Cartel

21.3.2018
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
0
SHARES
100
VIEWS

source: European Commission news

Brussels, 21 March 2018 – The European Commission slapped eight producers of electrolytic capacitors with a combined €254 million fine for their roles in a 14-year cartel.

RelatedPosts

Skeleton Curved Graphene Scientists Named as European Inventor Award 2022 Finalists

Flexible Cable Supercapacitor Application in EVs and HEVs

Snubber Capacitor Selection for SiC-Based Switching Converters

The European Commission has fined Elna, Hitachi Chemical, Holy Stone, Matsuo, NEC Tokin, Nichicon, Nippon Chemi-Con, Rubycon € 253 935 000. Together with the immunity applicant, Sanyo, they operated a cartel for the supply of aluminium and tantalum electrolytic capacitors between 1998 and 2012.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy said: “Capacitors are an essential part of almost all electronic products, ranging from smart phones to appliances in our homes, electronic systems in our cars and wind turbines producing electricity. The nine companies fined today colluded to maximise their profits. This may have happened not only at the expense of manufacturers but also of consumers. Our decision again makes clear that we will not tolerate anti-competitive conduct that may affect European consumers, even if anticompetitive contacts take place outside Europe.”

Capacitors are electrical components that store energy electrostatically in an electric field, and are used in a wide variety of electric and electronic products.

The Commission’s investigation found that from 1998 to 2012, nine Japanese companies participated in multilateral meetings and engaged in bilateral or trilateral contacts to exchange commercially sensitive information. The objective was to coordinate future behaviour and avoid price competition. In particular, the companies exchanged information on future prices and pricing intentions, and on future supply and demand information. In some instances, the participants also concluded price agreements and monitored their implementation.

The investigation found that the cartel participants were aware of the anti-competitive nature of their behaviour, as evidenced by their intention to conceal it. For example, messages exchanged between the companies or internal emails containing reports of the meetings included mentions such as “Discard after reading”, “After reading this email, please destroy it without stowing it away”, “Since the gathering should not be disclosed to the public, please be careful when handling the contents of the present report.” The meetings involved discussions between senior managers and occasionally even presidents.

The meetings and contacts took place mainly in Japan, but the cartel conduct was implemented on a global scale, including in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Fines

The fines were set on the basis of the Commission’s 2006 Guidelines on fines (see also MEMO).

In setting the level of fines, the Commission took into account, in particular, the companies’ sales of capacitors in the EEA, the serious nature of the infringement, its geographic scope covering the whole EEA and its long duration. According to the 2006 Guidelines on Fines, fines cannot exceed 10% of the annual worldwide turnover of a company. Therefore, the fines of Elna, Nippon Chemi-Con and Rubycon were capped at 10% of their total turnover.

Under the Commission’s 2006 Leniency Notice:

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. and its parent Panasonic Corporation received full immunity for revealing the existence of the cartel to the Commission, thereby avoiding an aggregate fine of ca. € 32 389 000.

Hitachi Chemical, Rubycon, Elna and NEC Tokin benefited from reductions of their fines for cooperating with the Commission’s investigation. The reductions reflect the timing of their cooperation and the extent to which the evidence each company provided helped the Commission to prove the existence of the cartel.
Rubycon was the first to submit compelling evidence that allowed the Commission to extend the duration of the infringement from June 1998 to August 2003. As a result, this period is not taken into account when setting the fine for Rubycon.

The breakdown of the fines imposed on each company is as follows:

table

Background

Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement prohibit cartels and other restrictive business practices.

The Commission’s investigation started in spring 2014, following an immunity application under the Commission Leniency Notice submitted by Panasonic Corporation and its subsidiaries. The Commission issued a statement of objections on 4 November 2015, followed by several letters of facts and carried out an oral hearing in September 2016.

More information on this case will be available under the case number AT.40136 in the public case register on the Commission’s competition website, once confidentiality issues have been dealt with. For more information on the Commission’s action against cartels, see its cartels website.

Action for damages

Any person or company affected by anti-competitive behaviour as described in this case may bring the matter before the courts of the Member States and seek damages. The case law of the Court and Council Regulation 1/2003 both confirm that in cases before national courts, a Commission decision that has become final constitutes binding proof that the behaviour took place and was illegal. Even though the Commission has fined the cartel participants concerned, damages may be awarded without being reduced on account of the Commission fine.

The Antitrust Damages Directive, which Member States had to implement in their legal systems by 27 December 2016, makes it easier for victims of anti-competitive practices to obtain damages. More information on antitrust damages actions, including a practical guide on how to quantify antitrust harm, is available here.

Whistleblower tool

The Commission has set up by a tool to make it easier for individuals to alert it about anti-competitive behaviour while maintaining their anonymity. The new tool protects whistleblowers’ anonymity through a specifically-designed encrypted messaging system that allows two way communications. The tool is accessible via this link.

 

Related Posts

Capacitors

Skeleton Curved Graphene Scientists Named as European Inventor Award 2022 Finalists

18.5.2022
1
Automotive

Flexible Cable Supercapacitor Application in EVs and HEVs

17.5.2022
37
Applications e-Blog

Snubber Capacitor Selection for SiC-Based Switching Converters

17.5.2022
30

Popular Posts

  • Ripple Current and its Effects on the Performance of Capacitors

    3 shares
    Share 3 Tweet 0
  • Understanding High-Precision Resistor Temperature Coefficient of Resistance

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What is a Dielectric Constant of Plastic Materials ?

    4 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 0
  • Why Low ESR Matters in Capacitor Design

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Capacitor Selection for Coupling and Decoupling Applications

    28 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 0

Newsletter Subscription

 

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • EPCI Advertisement & Membership
  • About

© 2021 EPCI - Premium Passive Components Educational and Information Site

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Video
  • Knowledge Blog
  • Preferred Suppliers
  • Events

© 2021 EPCI - Premium Passive Components Educational and Information Site

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.