Displaying items by tag: ahlstrom

Paul H Stenson (born 1962), Ph.D, Organic Chemistry, is appointed Executive Vice President, Business Development, and member of the Executive Management Team as of May 30, 2011, at Ahlstrom Corporation. Stenson will report to Jan Lång, President and CEO, Ahlstrom.

In his new role, Stenson will be responsible for managing business development related processes and exploring new business opportunities within Ahlstrom. He will be based in Windsor Locks, CT, USA.

Prior to joining Ahlstrom, Stenson has been holding various senior executive technology positions at Valspar Corporation since 1993 in the United States and Europe, last as Divisional Vice President Technology, Global Packaging and Industrial Coatings ( Europe ) based in Zürich, Switzerland.

Ahlstrom Corporation's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) was held today March 30, 2011.

Resolution on the distribution of profits

The AGM resolved to distribute a dividend of EUR 0.88 per share for the fiscal year that ended on December 31, 2010 from the retained earnings in accordance with the proposal of the Board of Directors. The dividend record date is April 4, 2011 and the pay date April 11, 2011. In addition, the AGM resolved to reserve EUR 100,000 to be used for donations at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

Approval of the Financial Statements

The AGM approved the financial statements and discharged the members of the Board of Directors and the President & CEO from liability for the fiscal year January 1-December 31, 2010.

Remuneration and election of the Board of Directors

The AGM confirmed the number of Board members to be seven. Thomas Ahlström, Sebastian Bondestam, Lori J. Cross, Anders Moberg and Peter Seligson were re-elected as members of the Board of Directors. Esa Ikäheimonen, born 1963, and Pertti Korhonen, born 1961, were elected as new members. The term of the Board of Directors will expire at the close of the next Annual General Meeting.

It was decided that the remuneration of the Board members be as follows:

Chairman                         EUR 84,000 per year

Vice Chairman                 EUR 63,000 per year

Members                          EUR 42,000 per year

In addition, the remuneration for attendance at Board meetings is EUR 1,500 per meeting for Board members residing outside Finland. As regards the permanent Board committees, the remuneration for attendance at committee meetings is EUR 1,500 per meeting. Travel expenses are reimbursed in accordance with the Company's travel policy.

Election and remuneration of the auditor

PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy was elected as Ahlstrom's auditor as recommended by the Audit Committee. PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy has designated Authorized Public Accountant Eero Suomela as the Responsible Auditor. The auditor's remuneration will be paid according to invoicing.

Authorizations to repurchase and distribute the Company's own shares as well as to accept them as pledge

The AGM authorized the Board of Directors to repurchase and distribute the Company's own shares as well as to accept them as pledge as proposed by the Board of Directors. The number of shares to be repurchased or accepted as pledge by virtue of the authorization shall not exceed 4,000,000 shares in the Company, yet always taking into account the limitations set forth in the Companies' Act as regards the maximum number of shares owned by or pledged to the Company or its subsidiaries. The shares may be repurchased only through public trading at the prevailing market price by using unrestricted shareholders' equity. The rules and guidelines of NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Oy and Euroclear Finland Ltd shall be followed in the repurchase.

The authorization includes the right for the Board of Directors to decide upon all other terms and conditions for the repurchase of the Company's own shares, or their acceptance as pledge, including the right to decide on the repurchase of the Company's own shares otherwise than in proportion to the shareholders' holdings in the Company.

By virtue of the authorization, the Board of Directors has the right to resolve to distribute a maximum of 4,000,000 own shares held by the Company. The Board of Directors was authorized to decide to whom and in which order the own shares will be distributed. The Board of Directors may decide on the distribution of the Company's own shares otherwise than in proportion to the existing pre-emptive right of shareholders to purchase the Company's own shares. The shares may be used e.g. as consideration in acquisitions and in other arrangements as well as to implement the Company's share-based incentive plans in the manner and to the extent decided by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has also the right to decide on the distribution of the shares in public trading for the purpose of financing possible acquisitions. The authorization also includes the right for the Board of Directors to resolve on the sale of the shares accepted as a pledge. The authorization includes the right for the Board of Directors to resolve upon all other terms and conditions for the distribution of the shares held by the Company.

The authorizations for the Board of Directors to repurchase the Company's own shares, to distribute them as well as to accept them as pledge are valid for 18 months from the close of the Annual General Meeting but will, however, expire at the close of the next Annual General Meeting, at the latest.

Decisions taken by the Board of Direcrors

After the AGM, the organization meeting of the Board of Directors elected Peter Seligson as Chairman and Pertti Korhonen as Vice Chairman of the Board.

The Board of Directors appointed three permanent committees. The members of the Audit Committee are Esa Ikäheimonen (Chairman), Thomas Ahlström and Sebastian Bondestam. The members of the Compensation Committee are Peter Seligson (Chairman), Lori J. Cross and Anders Moberg. Five persons were appointed as members of the Nomination Committee: Peter Seligson (Chairman), Pertti Korhonen and Anders Moberg as well as the non-board members Carl Ahlström and Risto Murto. The compostition of the Nomination Committee aims at increasing shareholder influence in nomination matters.

Ahlstrom Corporation, a global high performance materials company, has today agreed to sell the buildings, land and assets of its Ascoli plant in Italy to Eurocomet.

The value of the transaction is approximately EUR 4.0 million euros, of which the land and buildings comprise EUR 2.5 million. Ahlstrom will book a non-recurring gain of approximately EUR 2.0 million in its second-quarter financial results.

Ahlstrom permanently closed the Ascoli plant and ceased the production of one-side coated papers there in early 2008 due to unsatisfactory profitability. The parties have agreed that Eurocomet will develop the site for other purposes than paper making and the machinery will be scrapped. Ahlstrom will keep some of the machinery parts.

The transaction is subject to customary closing terms and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2011.

Luc Rousselet, (born 1957) Master in Business Administration and Chemical Engineer, is appointed Executive Vice President, Supply Chain, and member of the Executive Management Team as of June 15, 2011, at Ahlstrom Corporation. Rousselet will report to Jan Lång, President and CEO.

Luc Rousselet will be responsible for developing the global supply management and processes of the Group, including manufacturing, sourcing and logistics.

Prior to joining Ahlstrom, Rousselet has been holding various senior positions at 3M Group since 1991, last as Supply Chain and Distribution Director, France. He has also worked for example as Site Manager in France, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt in Europe and Manufacturing Operations Manager in the US at the Medical Services Business Division.

Ahlstrom, a global high performance materials company, is launching a renewed brand today. The new brand identity is the visual expression of the company's new business strategy, which has been developed as a response to the changing needs of its customers around the world.

Ahlstrom has been building on its experience and know-how to anticipate customer needs. Recently, the company has made  some fundamental changes in its strategy and operating model, and the company is now positioned strongly towards the future.

To reflect all these changes, Ahlstrom today unveils a new brand story and brand identity. They are the result of an extensive research among employees and external stakeholders across all the different markets and countries in which the company operates.

"Following the acquisitions made during the last few years and the recent strategy review, we have worked hard to create 'One Ahlstrom', to ensure that this is a company with strong values and consistent culture and a shared passion for doing things better. That means better products, better performance and better service for all our customers. To crystallize this we also needed to change the way we identify and present ourselves," says Jan Lång, the President & CEO of Ahlstrom.

"As an inspiration for our employees and as a promise to our external stakeholders, we'll strive to Stay ahead. We've come a long way because progress has always been our life-blood. We need to ensure our customers stay ahead" Lång adds.

All these themes are brought together in Ahlstrom's new logo and the new brand promise, Stay ahead. The brand identity consists of completely new colors and other visual elements, which reflect the company's commitment to renewal and delivering results.

Ahlstrom celebrates the launch of its brand today at a premier night in which a TV documentary of the company's 160-year journey is presented to a large audience of invited guests. The documentary will be broadcast on MTV3, the main commercial Finnish TV channel, on March, 6

Ahlstrom's Louveira plant in Brazil has resumed full production after the facility was hit by floods last month.

During the shutdown Ahlstrom was able to supply its customers from Louveira's inventory, which was not damaged in the floods. Ahlstrom also started to import filtration material from its plants in North America and Europe to ensure most urgent deliveries to its South American customers.

The Louveira plant is located approximately 100 kilometers from Sao Paolo in southeastern Brazil and is part of Ahlstrom's Filtration Business Area. It produces transportation filtration material.

Ahlstrom anticipates that damages related to the flooding will be mostly recovered by insurance coverage.

Liisa Nyyssönen (M.Sc. Econ) has been appointed Vice President, Corporate Communications at Ahlstrom Corporation as of 1 February, 2011.

Her responsibility area includes external and internal communications as well as investor relations. She reports to Paula Aarnio, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Sustainability.

Nyyssönen joins Ahlstrom from the Helsinki office of the international PR agency Hill and Knowlton, where she worked as Director, Corporate Communications, responsible for strategic and operative messaging and consultancy for clients across industries. Previously she has worked at Nokia Group for 14 years, where she held several global senior level positions in communications and corporate marketing.

Niina Suhonen, previous head of Ahlstrom's Communications, has left the company at the end of 2010 to pursue new challenges outside the company.

Ahlstrom Corporation will publish its financial statements bulletin 2010 on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 approximately at 12 a.m. Finnish time (CET +1).

Ahlstrom's President & CEO Jan Lång and CFO Seppo Parvi will present the 2010 results in Finnish at a press and analyst conference in Helsinki on February 1 at 2.30 p.m. Finnish time. The conference will take place at event arena Bank, address Unioninkatu 20, 2^nd floor. The name of the meeting room will be displayed on the display board in the lobby.

In addition, a conference call for analysts and investors will be held in English on the same day at 5 p.m. Finnish time. To participate in the teleconference, please dial +358 (0)9 2319 4349 in Finland or +44 (0)20 7806 1950 outside Finland a few minutes before the conference begins. The confirmation code is 4185374.

The event can also be viewed as a live audio webcast at www.ahlstrom.com. Registration is required. It is possible to participate in the Q & A session via teleconference or online.

An on-demand audio webcast of the conference will be available on Ahlstrom's website for twelve months after the call.

The presentation material will be available at www.ahlstrom.com > Investors > Reports and presentations > 2010 after the interim report has been published.

Ahlstrom Corporation
Corporate Communications

Ahlstrom's Louveira plant in Brazil was hit by a thunderstorm and flooded. Production at the site has been stopped. There were no injuries to Ahlstrom staff or other people at the site.

The Louveira plant is located approximately 100 kilometers from Sao Paolo in southeastern Brazil and is part of Ahlstrom's Filtration Business Area. It produces transportation filtration material.

Ahlstrom is currently investigating the magnitude of the damage and has started the clean-up process. The company will make all the possible efforts to serve customers in the force majeure situation. The southeastern part of Brazil has suffered from severe floods and mudslides.

Ahlstrom Corporation, a global leader in nonwovens and specialty papers, today announces that it has signed a EUR 45 million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank.

The loan will be used for research and product development and innovation purposes in the years 2010 to 2013 at Ahlstrom's sites in Finland, France, Germany and Italy.The final repayment date of the loan is 7 years from drawdown.

For further information, please contact:
Seppo Parvi
CFO
Tel. +358 10 888 4768