Metsä Board has concluded change negotiations and Tako mill will be closed

Aptar CSP Technologies, part of AptarGroup, Inc. and a leader in active material science solutions to ensure product protection, extend shelf life and improve patient experience, announces a new manufacturing site able to produce its Activ-Blister™ Solutions for oral slide dose drugs in Europe. The move is part of a key strategic effort to expand production of Activ-Blister™ technology globally and is the result of a 3-way collaboration between Aptar CSP, Uhlmann (a leading pharmaceutical packaging equipment manufacturer), and Ivers-Lee, www.iverslee.com, (a local contract manufacturing organization). This collaboration consists of a fully automated Uhlmann blister machine validated to package oral solid dose drug products with Activ-Blister™ Solutions heat-staked to the foil at a rate of up to 250 blisters per minute (Figure 1). The equipment is designed to integrate Activ-Blister™ technology into the blister cavity with precision placement (Figure 2). The equipment has been fully-validated and is in place at Ivers-Lee, a CMO capable of manufacturing Activ-Blister™ solutions from R&D to commercialization. A CMO in EMEA will support regional customers and ensure speed-to-market.

• Revenue decreased 9.4% to $267.8 million primarily due to a decrease in volume/mix and lower selling prices. The decrease in volume/mix was primarily due to the net impact of COVID-19 on demand. • Gross margin decreased to 21.1% from 21.9% primarily due to the unfavorable impact of unabsorbed overhead costs related to production slowdowns in the second quarter of 2020 to manage inventory levels at facilities that experienced COVID-19 related declines in demand, partially offset by a net decrease in all other plant-related operating costs driven by cost savings initiatives. • Net earnings attributable to the Company shareholders ("IPG Net Earnings") increased $8.3 million to $14.8 million ($0.25 basic and diluted earnings per share) primarily due to (i) a gain resulting from a fair value adjustment to the Company's contingent consideration related to the Nortech Acquisition(2) , (ii) a decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses ("SG&A") mainly driven by decreases in travel expenses and variable compensation both related to the impacts of COVID-19, and (iii) a decrease in income tax expense mainly driven by the non-recurrence of the Proposed Tax Assessment(3) recorded in the second quarter of 2019. These favourable impacts were partially offset by a decrease in gross profit.

The MM (Mayr-Melnhof) Group has appointed Päivi Suutari (58, M.Sc.) as the new Managing Director of MM Kotkamills. She will start in her role on 1.10.2021. Päivi Suutari has worked for more than 30 years in the Cartonboard and Packaging industry (Stora Enso, Huhtamaki) and brings a wealth of experience leading businesses and people in several countries in Europe and Asia. She joined Kotkamills in 2019 as Vice President for Research, Development and Innovation and has played a key role in advancing the company’s development and innovation activities.