Paper cartel

The term paper cartel denotes various historical cartels in the paper industry.

Austrian paper sales company

After the Second World War , a legal paper cartel was formed in Austria with the Österreichische Papierverkaufsgesellschaft mbH ( ÖPA ) with the consent of the Allies and the Ministry of Commerce. The task of the cartel was to distribute the scarce paper in Austria. The legal basis was the Act of August 29, 1945 on the Control of Paper Consumption for Printing Purposes (Paper Consumption Control Act), which initially only came into force in the Soviet-occupied zone, with a circular issued by the Ministry of the Interior on October 10, 1946. In April 1946, 144 publishers reported a need for paper on; 200 tons of paper could be distributed in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland. In August the number of publishers who registered the need rose to 210, the amount of paper fell at the same time to 120 tons, in September 170 tons. No paper could be made available in the last three months of the year. Obtaining paper was easier in western Austria. At the beginning of 1948 the paper management in Austria was abolished, the cartel of the ÖPA remained.

Carbonless paper

From May 1995 to April 2000 there was a cartel for picture printing, offset and carbonless paper . On December 20, 2001, the European Commission imposed a fine totaling EUR 313.7 million on ten companies for forming a prohibited price and regional cartel. At the time, this was the second highest fine ever imposed by the EU. Sappi Ltd was also involved in the cartel, but was exempt from conviction because of its involvement in the investigation. The European Court of Justice essentially upheld the penalties in the first instance and two fines were reduced. According to the judgment, the penalties were in detail:

Arjo Wiggins Appleton : 141 million euros,
Koehler : 33.1 million euros,
Zanders : 29.8 million euros,
Bolloré : 22.7 million euros,
Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Bielefeld : 21.2 million euros,
Torraspapel : 14.1 million euros,
Mougeot: 3.6 million euros,
Divipa: 1.7 million euros,
Zicuñaga; 1.3 million euros.
Carrs Paper Ltd had since filed for bankruptcy.

Decorative paper

The price cartel for decor paper existed from August 2005 to the end of 2007 . Involved were Felix Schoeller Holding , Munksjö Paper and Arjo Wiggins , subsidiaries of the largest manufacturer of decorative paper in Europe. The Federal Cartel Office imposed a fine totaling 62 million euros. The companies accepted the fines.