Ahlstrom-Munksjö is also planning to change its business name to Ahlstrom when the divestment of its Decor business is completed later this year.
“We are now accelerating the pace of strategy execution to build a stronger company for a sustainable future and capture the significant opportunities both to grow and improve profitability,” says Ahlstrom-Munksjö president and CEO Hans Sohlström. “Our strategic ambition for 2025 is to become the leader in combining fibers into performance materials that serve our purpose to Purify and Protect, with Every Fiber, for a Sustainable World. Sharper strategic focus, more ambitious sustainability targets, and a tailored operating model will enable us to effectively address attractive and distinctive end markets to further enhance our competitive advantages and value creation for our stakeholders.”
Ahlstrom-Munksjö has also launched a more ambitious sustainability strategy with corresponding targets. The company is aiming for all new product introductions to serve the purpose to Purify and Protect and be sustainable by design. While the strategy spans across environmental, social and governance factors, special focus is on immediate improvements in climate performance. Ahlstrom-Munksjö commits to the 1.5°C Science Based Target initiative towards 2030 and to Net Zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.
Effective 1 July 2022, the group will serve five growing and distinctive end markets, through five divisions: Filtration; Food & Consumer Packaging; Healthcare; Building Materials and Technical Materials. The divisions will be supported by global functions and centers of excellence for scale, synergies and excellence.
The Filtration division covers mission-critical air and liquid filtration applications where market growth is driven by higher purity and emission standards in automotive and industrial processes. Daniele Borlatto will continue as EVP of the Filtration division.
The Healthcare division serves medical, laboratory and life science applications including diagnostics, bioprocessing and medical performance barriers. Market growth is supported by increasing health consciousness, at-home-testing and the development and use of advanced bioprocessing. Markus Westerkamp will serve as interim EVP of the Healthcare division until a new appointment is made.
Ahlstrom-Munksjö is also establishing a new chief operating officer (COO) function to support the decentralized operating model and drive plant performance improvements. Markus Westerkamp, with a background as EVP of Advanced Solutions at Ahlstrom-Munksjö, will take on the role as COO from 1 July 2022.
