German authorities search cable-provider sites

On January 18, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) visited several company offices of cable manufacturers. There are some suspicions on illegal price agreements.

The reason for the searches in several company sites are suspicions that cable manufacturers could have coordinated the calculation of industry-standard metal surcharges in Germany. The FCO did not disclose the company names. Leoni (Germany) and Prysmian (Italy) informed that the FCO has carried out researches at certain company’s sites in Germany. Both cable manufacturers announced to cooperate with the FCO and to support the investigation. Leoni will investigate the allegations.

Leoni supplies CAN cable and wiring harnesses for different industries, especially for automakers. Last year, the VW ID.4 team travelling for a promotion journey through USA stopped at the company’s office in Troy, Michigan. The e-car uses a wiring harness manufactured by Leoni. The vehicle is equipped with several CAN FD and Classical CAN network segments.

Prysmian headquartered in Milan, provides CAN cables for automakers. They meet the characteristic impedance and signal runtimes required by road vehicle manufacturers. They are available with different cross-sections. The impedance and capacitance are guaranteed for the specified temperature range (e.g. -40 °C to +120 °C).

hz