HOUSTON (Feb. 17, 2010)—Parker ITR, the Variano, Italy-based hose-making subsidiary of Parker Hannifin Corp., has agreed to pay a $2.29 million fine for participating in a years-long conspiracy to fix prices, rig bids and allocate market share in the U.S. marine hose industry, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced.
Parker pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in the plea agreement filed Feb. 16 with the Houston federal district court. The agreement is subject to court approval.
The Justice Department accused Parker of participating in the conspiracy from 2002 until investigators arrested the alleged perpetrators on May 2, 2007. The conspiracy began in 1999, but Parker ITR is only held accountable from 2002 on because another company owned it before 2002.
Other companies implicated in the conspiracy include Dunlop Oil & Marine Ltd., Trelleborg Industrie S.A., Bridgestone Corp., Manuli Rubber Industries S.p.A. and Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. Dunlop Oil & Marine pleaded guilty in December 2008 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and agreed to pay a $4.54 million fine.