SGL Carbon

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SGL Carbon is a company whose principal activity is the manufacture of carbon, graphite and composite materials.

The company employs approximately 5,000 people in 33 sites around the world and has headquters in Wiesbaden, Germany. In 2005, the company Sales Revenue was € 1,069m in 2005. ^[1]

The company is publicly owned and has been listed in Germany on the MDAX since 1995, and the NYSE since 1996. SGL Carbon was the second German company to list on the NYSE, after Daimler.

1 Company History
2 Current Activities
3 References:

[edit] Company History

SGL Carbon was formed 1992 as merger between SIGRI/Germany and Great Lakes Carbon/USA. It was formerly known as Sigri Great Lakes Carbon GmbH and changed its name to SGL Carbon AG in 1994

[edit] Current Activities

[edit] Activities

The Group's The Group operates in three divisions:^[2]

Carbon and Graphite: develops graphite electrodes designed for industrial steel production in Electric arc furnaces;
Graphite Specialties: supplies products made of isostatically pressed, extruded, die and vibration-molded graphite, carbon-carbon, felt, graphite foils and laminated sheets, carbon and graphite yarns for a variety of applications and
SGL technologies: develops new business opportunities based on the Group's competencies for high technology materials, processes and applications.

[edit] Operations

The Group has operations in Europe, North, Central and South America.

[edit] Electrode Cartel and Antitrust litigation

In the field of Graphite Electrodes for electric arc furnaces, SGL Carbon was one of eight companies that operated a cartel and fixed prices between July 1992 and June 1997. The primary purpose of the cartel was to fix the price and allocte the volume of Graphite electrodes sold in the United Sates and elsewhere. ^[3]

SGL Carbon was among the companies accused and fined for operating as a cartel and price fixing in the Carbon Electrode business. This was initially discovered in the US but later the European commission added their own case and fine.

Eight companies were fined under the EEC action, the largest were Germany's SGL Carbon AG and UCAR International (Now Graftech International Ltd. of the United States). In the finding the EEC states:

The Commission's decision comes after a thorough investigation, which established that the eight producers, which together account for the quasi totality of the production world-wide, operated a secret cartel during most of the 90s resulting in considerably higher prices than if the companies had competed against each other. ^[4]

SGL carbon received the highest fine of the eight conspirators, amounting to € 80.2 million in Europe in addition to the $ 135 million in the United States.

To protect itself against damage payments for price fixing, SGL Carbon sought Chapter 11 protection in the United States. The Third Circuit adopted a "good faith" test and rejected a bankruptcy petition filed only because of the magnitude of anticipated antitrust claims. ^[5]