Ahlström Collective Impact (ACI), a joint responsibility initiative by a group of companies and foundations, will continue supporting UNICEF’s global education efforts in 2025 and remains committed to advancing children’s rights in business. This year, Ahlström Collective Impact’s contribution to UNICEF’s education work amounts to over €750,000. Support from the private sector is critically important in today’s increasingly complex global landscape, where cuts by several donor countries to international aid threaten UNICEF’s global efforts to uphold children’s rights.

The Antidumping and Countervailing Duties cases filed by Norpac in August against the Canadian UGW industry has reached the official stage of being investigated by the United States ITC and DOC. The increasing legal costs and the incremental costs associated with the inordinate amount of our corporate personnel’s time that is associated with the efforts needed to defend ourselves from the unfounded accusations levied on our industry are staggering. We also expect to have to start depositing interim duties beginning in early January 2018. Therefore, effective December 1, 2017, we will increase our 48.8 gms newsprint transaction price by $30/MT. The transaction price for our other newsprint and UGW grades and basis weights will increase accordingly. It is Kruger’s intention to rescind this increase once the threat of the duties is lifted and once the investigation is completed.

As part of the company strategy to invest and grow in the Electric Vehicle and Industrial Filtration markets, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has developed new capabilities to test gas adsorption performance at its Pont-Evêque R&D center in France. Investment has been completed to assist strategic, high-priority R&D projects to develop next generation molecular filters for fuel cell air intake filters, premium cabin air filters (for EV and ICE), and clean room environments. Gas adsorption performance is the primary technical feature of molecular filter media, with specific products designed to treat gaseous pollutants, thus decision was taken to have internal capability installed at Ahlstrom-Munksjö.