Pall Helping Hospitality Industry Reopen With Safe Water

3M Taking Steps to End This Pandemic and Prevent Another One

3M Taking Action Against Counterfeiters

Unifrax Acquiring Lydall

Lydall Revenues Up 13% in First Quarter

India Facing Third Wave Due to New Variant

India Vaccination Program Slowing

Missouri Hit With Highly Contagious Variant

Milwaukee Transit System to Use Aeris Guard

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Pall Helping Hospitality Industry Reopen With Safe Water

As COVID-19 restrictions ease and people around the world resume travel, the hospitality industry has the daunting task of ensuring hotels that have been dormant for the past year have a safe water supply. Pall Corporation, a leader in filtration, separation and purification, is working with customers around the globe on both short- and long-term solutions to help prevent outbreaks from waterborne pathogens, such as  Legionnaires' disease (LD).

Months of reduced occupancy and lack of water usage in hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes has the potential to cause microbial deterioration of water quality and increase the risk of waterborne pathogens which can lead to LD. As buildings re-open and water supply is used the first time in months, pathogens in the system can multiply and increase the risk of contamination. Over the past year, LD, which causes symptoms similar to that of COVID -19, such as shortness of breath and a fever, has been on the rise in the United States and Europe. 

As they prepare to re-open, Pall helps hospitality operators understand the potential risks of waterborne pathogens in water systems and provides guidance on remediation measures that help safeguard health, such as regular flushing and hot and cold-water temperature maintenance. 

Steve Ebersohl, Vice President of Global Marketing at Pall, said: "The hospitality industry was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – many venues closed entirely or ran at much lower capacity these past 12 months.  When water remains stagnant in a dormant building, the risk of waterborne infections increases.

"Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, Pall helped customers reduce the microbial contamination within the in-premise water system through the use of effective filtration systems. We have the expertise and are well positioned to respond to the global challenge that the hospitality industry faces today. "

Pall also predicts a demand increase for Point-of-Use water filters for the consumption and preparation of cold drinks, food and personal hygiene procedures. These filters can provide an immediate and efficient physical barrier against waterborne bacteria and fungi, treating water at the point of distribution and preventing the risk of contamination by Legionella and other waterborne pathogens such as  Pseudomonas aeruginosa, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, Escherichia coli and Aspergillus fumigatus.


3M Taking Steps to End This Pandemic and Prevent Another One

3M has led a comprehensive global response to country-specific needs during the pandemic and will now combine its learnings with the insights from the Pandemic Action Network, the first organization of its kind to advocate for policy changes and increased support and resources to ensure countries are better prepared to prevent, detect and respond to pandemic threats.

"We're staying true to our 3M vision to improve every life, as we take steps today to prepare for and help protect against future pandemics," said Denise Rutherford, senior vice president and chief corporate affairs officer, 3M. "No stakeholder or sector can tackle the enormity of this alone. The challenge demands bold collaboration on solutions and innovative approaches with governments, NGOs, academic organizations and other companies because that's how we will build a stronger and more resilient future."

Pandemic Action Network is a coalition of more than 100 global multi-sector organizations that are driving collective action to bring an end to COVID-19 and to ensure the world is prepared for the next pandemic. 3M and Pandemic Action Network will work together on programming to support vulnerable communities that continue to bear the brunt of COVID-19.

"With the mass roll-out of vaccines and the U.S. CDC's recent guidance on masking, many people are understandably hopeful that the worst is behind us — but the COVID-19 pandemic is not over and now is not the time to let our guard down. So far in 2021, there have been more cases and deaths reported compared to the whole of 2020. We must act on lessons learned and continue to promote and inspire healthy behaviors while ensuring the world is better prepared for pandemic threats," said Gabrielle Fitzgerald, CEO of Panorama Global and co-founder of Pandemic Action Network. "Through our partnership with 3M, we will mobilize public support and catalyze action until the world has fully crushed this pandemic."

3M recognized the challenge of COVID-19 early on and has increased production of N95 respirators and other supplies needed to fight the pandemic. Recently, 3M looked back on lessons learned from the pandemic and released a whitepaper on best practices and policies to prepare for future pandemics. 3M has also partnered with humanitarian aid organizations that are providing critical supplies and assistance throughout the world

3M Taking Action Against Counterfeiters

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted 3M a temporary restraining order stopping defendant Old World Timber, LLC from selling counterfeit products. 3M then worked with the U.S. Marshals Service to seize more than one million respirators.

"3M will continue to take action against those who sell fake products and put lives at risk during the pandemic, and we appreciate the prompt action by the U.S. Marshals Service and the court to help protect unsuspecting customers," said Kevin Rhodes, 3M senior vice president and deputy general counsel. "We will continue to offer our resources to check suspicious offers and get counterfeit products off the market."

The case originated when potential customers contacted 3M's fraud hotlines (1-800-426-8688 in the U.S. or www.3m.com/covidfraud) to check the authenticity of sales documents from Old World Timber.  3M investigated and determined the documents and products were fake.

Since the pandemic began, 3M has seized more than 41 million counterfeit N95 respirators in collaboration with law enforcement and customs agencies around the world.

3M has established hotlines around the world to report suspected fraud and has created online resources to help spot price-gouging, identify authentic 3M respirators and ensure products are from 3M authorized distributors.

3M has investigated more than 14,000 fraud reports to its hotlines globally and has filed 36 lawsuits to stop those attempting to profiteer from the pandemic demand for critical supplies.

Online, 3M has removed more than 20,000 false or deceptive social media posts, over 21,000 fraudulent e-commerce offers and at least 315 deceptive domain names have been taken down.

3M is donating all of the monetary damages and settlement payments it receives in these cases to COVID-19 related charities.

3M has created resources to get the facts about authentic PPE and avoid counterfeit scams at www.3m.com/covidfraud. If you have any questions whether respirators you've purchased or are thinking about purchasing are authentic, 3M is here to help. 

• Counterfeit respirators are made by criminals trying to deceive customers. These counterfeits do not come from 3M and are not made using 3M's robust quality controls.
• Counterfeit respirators are not tested and approved like authentic 3M respirators. Instead, counterfeit respirators are made by unknown fraudsters, using unknown processes and materials, with unknown or nonexistent quality controls.
• As a result, counterfeit respirators cannot be trusted and should not be purchased or used.

3M recognized the challenge of COVID-19 and responded early and rapidly to provide critical supplies needed to fight the pandemic. 3M increased production of N95 and other respirators critical for doctors, nurses and first responders, quadrupling the U.S. and global production rate. 3M is helping to protect lives through innovative products and technologies across a wide range of industries and helping prepare the world for next global challenge.

Unifrax Acquiring Lydall

Unifrax, a leading global provider of high-performance specialty materials focused on thermal management, specialty filtration, battery materials, emission control and fire protection applications backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. announced it has signed definitive agreements to acquire Lydall, Inc. a leader in the design and production of specialty filtration materials and advanced material solutions. With its leading technologies and 23 manufacturing facilities around the world, Lydall is well positioned to capitalize on growth in clean air filtration and electric vehicle adoption, among many other attractive markets. Under the terms of the agreement, Lydall shareholders will receive $62.10 per share in cash for each share outstanding, implying a total enterprise value of approximately $1.3 billion.

“The combination of Unifrax and Lydall creates a global specialty materials platform with new cutting edge technologies in advanced filtration, electric vehicle battery systems, and energy saving applications,” said John Dandolph, President and CEO of Unifrax. “The addition of Lydall’s people, technologies, and assets to the Unifrax portfolio will help accelerate our innovation pipeline and creates a world class platform capable of solving the world’s most pressing energy consumption, environmental and filtration challenges. We are excited to partner with a company that is similarly focused on our commitment to a Greener, Cleaner, and Safer^® world.”

Sara Greenstein, President and CEO of Lydall, added, “We are excited about the combination of Lydall and Unifrax. With this transaction, we are creating a leader in specialty filtration and advanced materials with over 250 years of combined expertise and experience delivering innovative and compelling solutions to customers worldwide.”

“We have long admired Lydall and what it would bring to our platform investment in Unifrax and could not be more excited about partnering with the Company and its team to build one of the world’s leading global specialty materials platforms,” said José E. Feliciano, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Clearlake, and Colin Leonard, Partner at Clearlake, in a joint statement. “We have supported Unifrax’s development of new technologies over the last few years that have the potential to change how we think about the industries in which both Unifrax and Lydall operate and inform their futures. The addition of Lydall to the Unifrax portfolio and its strong capabilities in advanced filtration creates a global platform with significant scale that together can accelerate each company’s respective compelling growth plans.”

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as lead financial advisor, J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal counsel to Unifrax in the transaction. BofA Securities is acting as exclusive financial advisor, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is acting as legal counsel to Lydall in connection with the transaction.

Lydall Revenues Up 13% in First Quarter

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS* - Q1 2021

·         Net sales of $227.1 million, up 13.3% compared to prior year on strong demand across all three segments: up 10.8% organically

·         Gross margin and adjusted gross margin of 21.4%, up 220 bps

·         Net income of $5.1 million or $0.28 per diluted share compared to loss per share of ($3.25) in Q1-2020; Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.35 compared to adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.20

·         EBITDA of $22.7 million or 10.0% of sales; Adjusted EBITDA up 22.0% to $24.4 million, or 10.7% of sales

·         Total debt net of cash of $172.3 million, compared to $200.3 million at March 31, 2020; net debt leverage ratio of 2.4x

“I’m thrilled to report that Lydall delivered another very strong quarter led by sales growth and sequential margin expansion in every business segment. We continue to execute on our strategic roadmap and leverage our strong product portfolio to deliver measurable results as we help our customers win,” said Sara A. Greenstein, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“Specialty filtration sales rose sharply as our new fine fiber meltblown production line in Rochester, New Hampshire began producing media at full capacity early in the quarter. This was complemented by strong demand for sealing solutions and specialty insulation products in our Performance Materials (“PM”) business,” commented Ms. Greenstein. PM specialty filtration sales grew 32.7% or $8.5 million, and sales of sealing and advanced solutions products were up 14.4%. “Incremental fine fiber meltblown capacity at Rochester and St. Rivalain, France remains on schedule for full production rates in early third quarter, which we expect to contribute to strong growth and further margin expansion for PM."

Elevated automotive demand continued globally, with parts sales in the Thermal Acoustical Solutions (“TAS”) segment growing 11.9% compared to last year, and 4.3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. “The TAS business eliminated COVID-related high cost temporary labor in our North American operations and continues to deliver sequential margin improvements.”

Lydall’s Technical Nonwovens (“TNW”) segment saw sales growth of 7.4%, led by strong growth in Canada and China. Favorable mix and productivity drove EBITDA margin expansion both year over year and sequentially.

Q1 2021 Consolidated Results

Net sales of $227.1 million increased by $26.6 million, or 13.3% compared to the first quarter of 2020. Consolidated sales were up 10.8% organically, led by 19.9% growth in PM on strong specialty filtration and sealing volumes, healthy growth of 8.1% in TAS on robust automotive demand, and growth of 1.8% in the TNW segment.

Operating income of $12.1 million improved by $67.7 million dollars from the first quarter 2020 operating loss of $55.6 million dollars, which included impairment charges of $61.1 million.

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $24.4 million was up $4.4 million or 22.0% from the first quarter of 2020. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.7% expanded 70 basis points from prior year and 230 basis points from fourth quarter 2020. This was led by strong margin gains in PM which delivered adjusted EBITDA margin of 26.5%, up sharply from prior year driven by favorable mix of specialty filtration products and higher volume of sealing sales. Continued operational improvements in North America were the primary driver of sequential EBITDA margin expansion of 290 basis points in TAS, while TNW volume and mix led to sequential EBITDA margin expansion of 170 basis points.

Randall B. Gonzales, Chief Financial Officer, commented, “PM continues to perform in line with our expectations fueled by strong, profitable growth of specialty filtration volumes, and effectively leveraging fixed costs as sealing and specialty insulation volumes accelerate. Lydall’s focus on reshaping our portfolio to meet our customer’s diverse needs, combined with a commitment to operational excellence, are key components to delivering healthy margin expansion and strong cash flows.”

 

Ms. Greenstein commented, “Our strategy is delivering results. As we focus on the Grow and Differentiate phase, we see continued robust demand in 2021 across all of the key end markets that leverage Lydall’s diverse product portfolio. In addition, our strong innovation pipeline addresses the megatrends driving the post-pandemic global economic rebound. Specialty filtration solutions that address enhanced indoor air quality requirements will accelerate with the completion of Lydall’s innovation focused Filtration Center of Excellence. Stricter industrial emission regulations will drive continued demand for higher performance outdoor air quality solutions. Demand for high performance sealing solutions across a myriad of end use applications and ultra-low temperature insulation for cryogenic applications remain robust. Recent announcements related to domestic infrastructure investment are expected to benefit our geosynthetics business, while accelerated EV adoption leverages Lydall’s deep OEM customer partnerships and engineering expertise in vehicle light-weighting, thermal management, and acoustical abatement products.

“Our focus on One Lydall initiatives and bias for quick, decisive, and data driven actions have enabled Lydall to deliver strong first quarter results even in light of the pandemic and significant global supply chain disruptions.” Ms. Greenstein concluded, “We are confident that these hard-won gains on operational excellence, cost flexibility, cash discipline, and relentless customer focus will continue going forward, positioning Lydall to deliver superior results in 2021.”

India Facing Third Wave Due to New Variant

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the Covid death numbers could be five to six times higher in India, but the focus should be on vaccination, as the second wave was bad, the third wave could be worse.

Rahul Gandhi, during his virtual press conference, was responding to a question on data being fudged on Covid deaths.

Rahul Gandhi said, "It is sure and there is no doubt that the government is hiding the truth. In my view, the number of death is five to six times of the reported figure, but it is not productive for us to get into discussion of number of deaths as to how many people died. Of course, the compensation is critical and there are ways in which figures can be verified but the discussion should not be on the numbers, but it should be on what we should do next."

"We can attack the government after the pandemic is over -- that you lied on the numbers but today is the time and again I am repeating myself, if you think the second wave was bad, then the third wave is going to be worse. So focus should be on vaccination and we should ensure that virus should not be given space to regenerate," he added.

The Congress leader said that the only way out is to vaccinate 100 per cent of the population and the focus should be on it, while saying that it's good that more than 80 lakh people took vaccines on Monday, but this should be an ongoing process.

He said that the government should allow as many vaccines as possible and refused to join issues on efficacy and time period and stated that it should be left to the experts.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, released a white paper of the party on the Covid pandemic and said that the aim of the report is not to finger point at the government but to help the nation prepare for the third wave.

The Congress leader said that the entire country knows that before the second wave, the scientists and doctors warned us. "Government did not take the necessary action to prevent the second wave of Covid," he said, adding that today again we are standing here.

"Entire country knows that the third wave is going to come as the virus is mutating. And we are saying again that the government should prepare immediately, the requirements of medicines, infrastructures, oxygen supplies and hospitals," he said.

"The purpose of this white paper is to help the government to prepare for the third wave," Rahul Gandhi said.

He said that this is our intention to provide the government the insights on what to be done. He also pointed out that it is clear that management of the first and second wave of Covid was disastrous, and we have tried to point out the reasons behind it. He asserted, "I would even go so far as to say that there might be waves even after the third wave of Covid-19 as the virus is mutating".

He also said that the central pillar of fighting Covid is vaccination.

Stressing on providing financial assistance to the people, the Congress leader urged the government to implement the NYAY scheme and come up with Covid fund to provide monetary support to people who lost their kin due to the pandemic.

India Vaccination Program Slowing

India’s vaccinations over the next few weeks could fall short of the pace set on the first day of a federal campaign unless it makes inroads in its vast hinterland and bridges a shortage of doses, experts said on Tuesday.

The 8.6 million doses injected on Monday represented a record two-fold jump as India kicked off free inoculation for all adults, reversing a policy for individual states and hospitals to buy vaccines for those aged 18 to 44.

"This is clearly not sustainable," Chandrakant Lahariya, an expert in public policy and health systems, told Reuters.

"With such one-day drives, many states have consumed most of their current vaccine stocks, which will affect the vaccination in days to follow."

The inoculation effort in the world's second most populous nation had covered just about 5.5% of all the 950 million people eligible, even though India is the world's largest producer of vaccines.

A devastating second wave of infections during April and May overwhelmed medical staff and facilities, killing hundreds of thousands. Images of funeral pyres blazing in car parks and open spaces spurred questions over the chaotic vaccine rollout.

Since May, India has distributed an average of fewer than 3 million doses each day, far less than the 10 million health officials say is crucial to protect the millions vulnerable to new surges. Particularly in the countryside, where two-thirds of a population of 1.4 billion lives and the healthcare system is often overstretched, the drive has faltered, experts say.

Maintaining the pace of the vaccination effort will prove particularly challenging when it comes to injecting the younger population in such "underserved" areas, Delhi-based epidemiologist Rajib Dasgupta said.

Widespread vaccine shortages since May have worsened the divide between urban and rural areas, as many younger people in cities turned to private hospitals, paying between $9 and $24 a dose in the rush to protect themselves from the virus.

Such regional gaps in healthcare are exacerbated unless comprehensive data is made available on vaccinations, among others factors, said Bhramar Mukherjee, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan.

Authorities in New Delhi said more than 8 million residents had yet to receive a first dose and added that inoculating all the adults in the capital would take more than a year, at the current pace.


Missouri Hit With Highly Contagious Variant

Experts say a highly contagious strain of Covid-19 is spreading rapidly through Missouri, particularly in smaller, rural communities where vaccination rates are sluggish.

The strain, known as the delta variant, first detected in India, has been found in the wastewater of at least 10 counties, according to an NBC review of data in the state’s “Sewershed Surveillance Project.”

"Since about the second week of May, we've seen a very large increase in the prevalence of the delta variant," said Marc Johnson, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the University of Missouri. "And the speed at which it spread is quite amazing. It spread really quickly through the state."

Johnson and his colleague Chung-Ho Lin, a research associate professor and lead scientist in the university’s bioremediation program, have worked with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Department of Natural Resources to track the coronavirus through wastewater, with the collaboration beginning last summer.

Johnson’s lab focuses on separating the virus from larger particles of waste and extracting its genetic material. Researchers can amplify the genetic material and study it in greater detail, through a process known as quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

It’s a time-consuming endeavor, but one that experts say can be a highly effective mitigation tool. In addition to detecting the presence of the virus that causes Covid-19 in human waste, researchers are able to identify specific variants.

"It’s just a much more comprehensive way of studying the spread of the virus," Johnson explained. “When you rely on human testing, you're relying on people that got tested, have access to health care, and whatnot. Our system will tell you about an entire city without any bias for anything. As long as you use the sewer system, we will detect it."

Each week, the Department of Health and Senior Services sends the teams at the university from four to 50 boxes of wastewater samples from treatment facilities across the state.

Researchers first detected the delta variant on May 10, in wastewater from Branson. That same week, they found it in wastewater collected some 235 miles away, in Brookfield.

It was the start of a pattern that’s concerned officials. Both Branson and Brookfield are smaller cities, with low vaccination rates, in a state where only 38 percent of residents are fully vaccinated. Nationwide, more than 45 percent of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated.

"We're not talking about one continuous city. This is lots of small individual communities," Johnson said. "It's concerning that it’s spreading so rapidly."

In Linn County, home of Brookfield, less than a third of residents are fully vaccinated. Linn County’s health administrator, Krista Neblock, told NBC News the vaccination rate and the presence of the delta variant are disconcerting.

"If you would have asked me at the beginning of May if I would have thought at the end of May we would be in the situation that we were in, I would have said no," she said. "In November, when we weren’t dealing with that variant being in our community, we had maybe one or two members of a household testing positive. But now we have seen whole households test positive and doing the same mitigation and isolation guidelines that we have been promoting through the whole pandemic."

Neblock said the delta variant appears to be spreading much faster than previous variants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that the variant is a "variant of concern." That status applies to a variant when there is reason to believe it is more transmissible or causes more severe cases or vaccines and treatments are less effective against it.

Neblock said the county’s current wave of Covid-19 cases has led to a hospitalization rate of about 14 percent, and those being hospitalized are younger, 20 to 60 years old, and largely unvaccinated.

"I definitely hope that this surge has opened our community's eyes a little bit about the importance of the vaccine," Neblock said

Milwaukee Transit System to Use Aeris Guard

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) announced it is implementing a new air filtration system to help prevent the airborne spread of viruses – including COVID-19 – and make public buses safer. MCTS is using the Aeris Guard Bioactive Filter Treatment, a first-of-its-kind spray that coats each bus’s regular HVAC filters with a special polymer that controls the host bacteria and pathogens, including those which harbors SARS-CoV-2. A single application helps control and capture bacteria for up to three months, keeping public transportation riders safe for longer periods of time.

"We're excited to partner with Milwaukee County on this first deployment of the Aeris COVID defense system on an American public transit system," said Aeris CEO, Peter Bush. "Milwaukeeans can ride with peace of mind knowing they now receive the same protection from COVID-19 that other parts of the world have on a daily basis after adopting this technology." 

Many public transit officials are facing obstacles when looking to improve indoor ventilation, as most existing solutions are expensive, not scientifically proven, or incompatible with existing HVAC systems. The Aeris Guard Bioactive Filter Treatment, developed by Aeris Environmental, is affordable and increases filtration efficacy without decreasing airflow or placing extra strain on vehicle ventilation systems.

"Throughout the pandemic, MCTS has worked to ensure that buses continue to safely serve county residents," said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. "The introduction of this innovative air filtration treatment system is just the latest tool we're using to keep our employees and riders safe."

Mass transit remains the most accessible and affordable option for many Americans getting to and from workplaces, hospitals, schools, grocery stores, etc. For the 28 million Americans who don't have access to cars, public transit is the only option. The CDC advises reducing indoor airborne transmission of the virus by improving ventilation and upgrading HVAC filtration, but buses, trains, and subway cars rely on heating and cooling systems which recirculate the air and can spread virus particles. Restoring trust among the public in America's public transit options through proper virus mitigation is critical to fully reopening our economy.