Metal packaging cartel
By decision of 12 July 2022 the European Commission imposed fines of € 31.5 million on Crown and Silgan for participating in a cartel concerning sales of metal cans and closures in Germany. The Commission’s investigations were initiated in April 2018. According to the European Commission the infringement consised of two parts:
- First part: Regular exchanges between Crown and Silgan of detailed data on their most recent past annual sales volumes of metal closures to their individualized customers in Germany. This high level of transparency gave each company a solid basis for its future commercial strategy regarding a large number of German customers.
- Second part: Coordination between Crown and Silgan to: (i) impose a surcharge; and (ii) apply shorter minimum durability recommendation concerning metal cans and closures coated with BPA-free lacquers. The parties kept each other informed of their commercial strategies which allowed them to adapt their market behaviour and competitive efforts on the markets for metal cans and closures coated with BPA-free lacquers in Germany.
Cartel subject: metal closures otherwise called ‘lids‘, coated with BPA-free lacquers or BPA-containing lacquers which are predominantly used to close glass jars containing foods such as marmalade, vegetables, fruit, meat or fish as well as metal cans also referred as ‘containers‘ coated with BPA-free lacquers which are used to pack, transport and stock sterilised foods such as vegetables, fruit, meat, fish or juice
Cartel members: Crown, Silgan
Cartel period: from 1 March 2011 to 18 September 2014
Cartel region: Germany
Level of fines: a total of €31.5 million
Potentially affected parties: food packaging sector and food sector
Infringement |
Undertakings |
Scope |
Start |
End |
| First Part | Crown, Silgan | Metal closures | 11 March 2011 | 21 March 2014 |
| Second Part | Crown, Silgan | BPA-NI metal cans and BPA-NI metal closures | 18 April 2013 | 18 September2014 |
| Duration of the entire infringement | Crown, Silgan | Metal closures, BPA-NI metal cans and BPA-NI metal closures | 11 March 2011 | 18 September 2014 |
ECDA coordinator: Dr. Anna Lesinska-Adamson
Phone +49(0)30 611 28 40-10
info@ecda-online.com
Postal address:
European Cartel Damage Alliance e.V. (ECDA)
Magazinstraße 15-16
10179 Berlin / Germany