This applies to the following companies: Gebrüder Haider Bauunternehmung Gesellschaft mbH, Gebrüder Haider & Söhne GmbH, Gebrüder Haider & Co Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH, Haider – Steininger GmbH and Haider & Co Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH. The BWB accuses the companies of having been involved in a cartel. It was about price agreements, market sharing and the exchange of information with competitors in public and private construction tenders, with the aim of minimizing competition and helping each other to get orders.
As part of the investigation, more than 2,000 construction projects were identified in which, according to the BWB, there were anti-trust agreements in the period from 2002 to 2017. The order volume of the affected construction projects was between 3,500 euros and 61 million euros.
Projects in Upper Austria are also affected
According to the BWB, the agreed construction projects concerned both civil engineering and building construction, with roads and bridges being the main concern. The construction projects are mainly concentrated in Lower Austria. However, individual construction projects in Burgenland, Carinthia, Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol and Vienna are also affected.
Swietelsky AG already gave an acknowledgment last July and approached the BWB after the first investigative actions in the summer of 2017 and subsequently cooperated continuously and comprehensively as the 2nd Austrian construction company within the framework of the leniency program. This made the processing of the complex and extensive facts much easier and faster. The BWB has now applied to the Cartel Court for the already known fine of EUR 27.15 million against Swietelsky AG.
Source: Nachrichten
