Competition Commission Referred Its Findings of Cartel Conduct Against Glass South Africa

The Competition Commission has referred its findings of cartel conduct against Glass South Africa, National Glass, Northern Hardware & Glass, Furman Glass, McCoy’s Glass and AF-FSL Glass to the Competition Tribunal for a hearing

The commission initiated its investigation in February 2010 based on information it received in a leniency application by AF-FSL Glass on June 8 2009. AF-FSL was granted conditional leniency from prosecution.

The six companies, active in the manufacturing and distribution of glass products, face allegations of price fixing, market allocation and the fixing of trading conditions for float, laminated and toughened glass in Gauteng, the Free State and the Western Cape.

Float glass is the key input for the manufacture of windows while laminated glass is a type of safety glass used in vehicle windshields and skylight glazing. Toughened glass, which crumbles into granular chunks and is unlikely to cause injury when broken, is used in passenger vehicle windows, shower doors, refrigerator trays, and various types of plates and cookware.

The cartel was active from 1995 to 2007. The commission has asked the tribunal to impose an administrative penalty of 10% of annual turnover on each of the companies involved.