6.9.89 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 260/1 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION: DECISION of 2 August 1989 relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the EEC Treaty (IV/31.553 — Welded steel mesh) (Only-the Dutch, French, German and Italian texts are authentic) (89/515/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European: Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962, first Regulation implementing ‘Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty (?), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, and in particular Articles 3 and 15 thereof, Having regard to the Commission Decision of 26 January 1987 to open on its -own dinitiative a proceeding under- Article 3 of Regulation No 17, Having given the parties concerned the opportunity to make known their views on objections raised by the Commission, pursuant to Article 19 of Regulation No 17 and Commission Regulation No 99/63/EEC of 25 July 1963 on the hearings provided for in Article 19 (1) and (2) of Council Regulation No 17 (3), After consulting the Advisory Committee on Restrictive: Practices and Dominant Positions, Whereas: I. THE FACTS - A. The relevant products.. (1) Welded steel mesh is a prefabricated reinforcement product. made from smooth or ribbed cold-drawn . " (*) OJ No 13, 21. 2. 1962, p. 204/62, (*) O] No 127, 20. 8. 1963, p. 2268/63. reinforcing steel wires joined together by right-angle spot welding to form a network. It is a technically mature and proven reinforcement material that is used in almost all areas of reinforced concrete construction, both on the building site and for inclusion in prefabricated components. Welded mesh can be laid .out more quickly and satisfactorily than reinforcing bars, a related product which is delivered in the form of long bars to the site, where they are cut to size, bent and installed. The use of welded mesh results-in a saving on time and wage bills and in a smaller scrapped material loss. Welded mesh is laid in conerete to increase its tensile strength and is employed exclusively for the reinforcement of flat or bar shaped constructional components. : (2)  The value added in welded mesh compared with its intermediate material, wire rod, is relatively small (20 to 25 % ). Its final price depends greatly, therefore, on- the price of the intermediate material. (3)  There are different types of welded mesh: (a) . mesh from stock or standard mesh; (b) catalogue mesh; (c) tailor-made mesh (3). (1) One of the undertakings to whigh this proceeding relates, the Dutch producer ZND, maintains that there is a fourth type of welded mesh (special mesh). The Commission is not, however, of the opinion that such differences as there may be between special mesh and tailor-made mesh are sufficiently big to justify the addition of a separate, fourth category.