The European Commission imposed its largest-ever cartel fine today, €992 million for fixing lift prices including €480 million against ThyssenKrupp of Germany.
The companies fixed prices in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands from 1995 to 2004, the Commission said. It said they rigged bids, fixed prices and allocated projects to each other. It fined Otis, owned by United Technologies of the United States, €225 million.
Kone of Finland was fined €142 million. Schindler of Switzerland was fined 144 million euros and Mitsubishi Electric Corp of Japan €1.8 million.
"It is outrageous that the construction and maintenance costs of buildings, including hospitals, have been artificially bloated by these cartels," Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.
"The national management of these companies knew what they were doing was wrong, but they tried to conceal their action and went ahead anyway. The damage caused by this cartel will last for many years," she said in the statement
