INDUSTRY
Carbide Charged w i t h Violation Antimerger act violation charged by Federal Trade Commission against Union Carbide in Visking dea! . A C Q U I S I T I O N O F ONE of its major customers, Visking. has b r o u g h t charges of violation of t h e antimerger law against Union Carbide. T h e Federal Trade Commission, in bringing charges against Carbide, points out t h a t t h e company is t h e country's largest producer of polyethylene resins a n d that Visking is the largest producer of polyethylene film. F T C alleges that the acquisition violated the antimerger law, Section 7 of the Clayton Act of 1914. This is, perhaps, the most "purely vertical" merger that F T C has brought charges against. F T C complains t h a t Carbide may use the power of its acquired position to lessen competition or create a monopoly in making, selling, a n d distributing polyethylene resin or film. The complaint says t h e acquisition will have the following effects, among others: • It may lessen actual or potential competition by foreclosing other makers of polyethylene resin from a substantial share of this market. • It puts Carbide in a position to manipulate prices or use other means to lessen competition or t e n d t o create a monopoly, since it would be the principal source of supply for polyethylene resin and principal competitor of polyethylene film p r o d u c e r s . • It may eliminate or restrict opportunities which producers of polyethylene film have to influence supply or price of this product or to engage in independent market behavior contrary to Carbide's interests. The complaint says that last year Carbide had assets of $1.46 billion and sales of $1.32 billion. Polyethylene resin sales accounted for over $91 million of this amount and were over 509c of the industry's sales. In terms of capacity, Carbide accounted for 469c of the industry total of 650 million pounds. This share was more than double that of its nearest competitor in this product, D u Pont. There are eight other firms in the field. Visking's assets were about $38.3 million last year; its sales were $56.0 million, accounting for 407r of t h e sales of polyethylene film and 6 5 % of the synthetic sausage casings sold in the U . S. According to F T C ' s complaint, in 1955 Visking bought 8 2 % of its polyethylene resins from Carbide for a total 20
C&EN
JULY
2 2,
1957
of $13.4 million; in 1956 it bought 90% from Carbide for $18.0 million. T h e Visking purchase occurred Dec. 31, 1956, and involved t h e exchange of some 864,450 shares of Carbide stock. W h e n the agreement between t h e companies was signed Sept. 14, the value of Carbide stock to be exchanged was valued a t $102.4 million, while the value of Visking's stock was said to be about $85.4 million. Carbide has 3 0 days in which to file an answer to t h e complaint. A hearing is scheduled Sept. 3 0 in New York City before an F T C hearing examiner.
Ground Broken for WTR Materials testing reactor started by Westînghouse at center near Pittsburgh will be available commercially CONSTRUCTION
WAS STARTED
ΟΠ t h e
Westinghouse Testing Reactor last week, only five days after A E C issued a construction permit for it. AKC sa\ s this is the first permit it has issued for a privately owned materials testing re actor. T h e site of t h e testing reactor is on an 850-acre tract some 30 miles from Pittsburgh. This is the site being used by the company's newly formed Re actor Evaluation Center. O n e of the first activities at the new center will be to test the core of the WTR. In one of the three main sec tions of the center, the critical experi ment room, t h e r e is a 37-foot steel girder "tower" which will support a nuclear core tank as tests are con ducted on the cores. W h e n W T R is completed, between Dec. 1, 1958 a n d July 1, 1959, it will operate at a thermal power level of 20,000 kw. Its main uses will be to develop and test power reactor fuel elements, to test radiation damage of materials and components, and to make radioisotopes on a limited basis. Westinghouse plans to make t h e facility available to others on a commercial basis. After the reactor is completed and AEC approves its safety, the construc tion permit will be converted to a license to operate the reactor through Dec. 3 1 , 1962.
