Brussels, 29/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission announced it had carried out surprise inspections of premises of several lift and escalator manufacturers in four Member States, including Germany, France, Finland and Belgium. The companies are suspected off colluding to corner the market, rigging tenders and hampering after sales service market exchanges, said Amelia Torres. The spokesperson did not want to reveal company names to preserve their presumption of innocence. Nevertheless, companies Schindler, United Technologies (parent company of Otis) Kone and Thyssenkrupp confirmed a visit from EU officials. The European Elevator Association and European Lift Association lobby groups are also targeted by the inquiry. The Commission stressed that at this stage it is not pre-empting the outcome of the dossier and that no date has been set to close the inquiry.