UCAR, SGL Chiefs Ran Price-Fixing Plot, Papers Allege (Repeat)
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The chief executives of SGL Carbon AG and Ucar International Inc. hatched an elaborate plot in 1992 to revive slumping prices of graphite electrodes used to heat steelmakers' furnaces -- even assigning code names to participants, newly available court papers allege.
Details of the price-fixing conspiracy orchestrated by SGL Chairman Robert Koehler with the alleged help of former Ucar President Robert Krass are amassed in documents gathered in civil lawsuits by Tampa, Florida-based AmeriSteel Corp. and other operators of minimill steel plants seeking triple damages for overcharges. A related criminal investigation so far has produced guilty pleas by Koehler, four corporations and record U.S. antitrust fines.