Midland Lead Fears Effect of Lead Cartel Price Fixing

More than three years after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation started into a UK lead cartel, two of the largest rolled lead sheet manufacturers, Associated Leads Mills and BLM British Lead have admitted guilt and face fines of up to £11 million. A third company, Calder Industrial Materials is still under investigation into its part in this breach of competition law.

MIDLAND LEAD’S Managing Director Boudewijn Tuinenburg, says,

“Although this news is welcome, in our opinion it does not fully accentuate the severity of this case and the adverse effect that it has on the lead industry as a whole.

“This investigation has been drawn out over several years now, and it has left many contractors and builders merchants frustrated at the fact that they may have been exploited by the companies involved in fixing prices.

“We are disappointed that the lead industry has hit the headlines with such a negative focus. The CMA investigation, although imperative, reflects the lead industry in an unwelcome light that has been created by potentially three unprincipled manufacturers that could be seen as damaging to the rest of us.

Ethical competition

“We welcome competition as we know that it encourages originality and pushes for excellence in customer service. This focus on price fixing is in no way reflective of how Midland Lead and many other manufacturers conduct business.

“On the whole, the sector is innovative, customer focussed and provides high quality products in an ethical manner, all of which form our core company values.

“Midland Lead is an independently family-owned company that has been manufacturing machine cast lead for the last 37 years and has not, in any way, been complicit in the rolled lead cartel investigation by the CMA.

“Now, more so than ever, we should be focussing on the positive aspects of lead. We are keen to continue to work with companies that share our values, tackling wider issues such as skills shortage, training and encouraging sustainable manufacturing in construction. These issues are more achievable with a strong lead industry, where manufacturers and contractors work together.

Core values

“We are proud that we have grown the business through delivering and communicating our core values and we continue to build on a reputation for delivering high quality product and always working with integrity, trust and honesty.”