Commission confirms dawn raids in polyurethane foam

On 3 August 2010, the Commission announced that, from 27 July 2010, its officials, accompanied by their counterparts from the relevant national competition authorities, conducted unannounced inspections at the premises of several companies active in the polyurethane foam sector in several member states. The polyurethane foam sector is divided up into two main markets: flexible foam, which is used mainly in furniture, car seats and mattresses which is said to be the focus of the investigation; and rigid foam, used principally for insulation.

The Commission has not named the parties under investigation, however, Recticel has confirmed it was targeted in Belgium and in the UK, and inspections were also conducted at its associated company Eurofoam in Austria.