25. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 19/2§ (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION ‘ of 12 December 1990 relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the EEC Treaty in Case No IV/32363 — KSB/Goulds/Lowara/ITT (Only the German, English and Italian texts are authentic) (91/38/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 2, 4, 6 and 8 thereof, Having regard to the application submitted on 5 June 1987 by KSB Aktiengesellschaft, Frankenthal, Germany (KSB), Lowara SpA, Montecchio, Italy (Lowara), Goulds Pumps Inc., Seneca Falls, New York, United States of America (Goulds) and ITT Fluid Handling Division, New Jersey, United States of America (ITT) for negative clear- ance or exemption of the agreements concluded by them on 22 July 1987 for the joint research, development and production of the wet end of a single-stage, single-flow, radial centrifugal pump made from chrome nickel steel and of the production agreement concluded by the parties on the same date with Lowara as manufacturer for the production of the pump components, Having published a summary of the application and noti- fication (%) pursuant to Article 19 (3) of Regulation No 17, After consulting the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions, () OJ No 13, 21. 2. 1962, p. 204/62. () OJ No C 259, 12. 10, 1989, p. §. Whereas : 1. THE FACTS A. The proceeding (1) By letter dated 5 June 1987, KSB, Lowara, Goulds and ITT notified an agreement concluded by them on 5 November 1985 on the setting up of Quattro Tech. SA. : In the notification itself the parties already announced changes to the original cooperation agreement. By letter dated 4 August 1987, they submitted the two agreements concluded on 22 July 1987 which superseded the original agree- ment, namely the agreement for joint research, development and production and the production agreement. They applied for negative clearance pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation No 17 or, alter- natively, for exemption pursuant to Article 85 (3) of the EEC Treaty. B. The undertakings (2  KSB Aktiengesellschaft (KSB) is the leading Euro- pean pump manufacturer and has its registered office in Frankenthal, Germany. It has subsidiaries inside and outside the Community. In 1986, KSB acquired the largest French manufacturer, Ets Pompes Guinard, whose registered office is in Courbevoie. As a result of this acquisition, KSB became the largest pump manufacturer in the