President and CEO of Covalence Specialty Materials Terry A. Sutter said “This is an exciting time for all of us at Covalence. As a stand-alone business with strong financial backing and an aggressive entrepreneurial spirit, we have been presented with a unique opportunity to further expand Covalence’s rich product mix and to broaden the markets we serve. Our objective is to be innovative, but also to build a solid, financially secure business of broad stature and sustainable growth.”

Mr Sutter said that the company’s new name was chosen to reflect its character. “Covalence means a shared bond and it is representative of the relations we have with our customers, suppliers, employees and investors,” he said. “Specialty Materials signifies the broad product line and array of technologies we utilise every day.”

The company has defined its key drivers as top-line growth- driving volume growth through innovative new products, expanding their customer base and growing with existing customers; operational intensity – promoting best-in-class operating practices to drive productivity and environmental health and safety; customer service – improving quality, delivery and ease of doing business; and organisational effectiveness – putting in place the right structure, people, processes, and rewards to execute strategies and deliver sustainable results.

“Our move to a separate, strongly positioned private company, with a broad constituency that includes the people we work with and the markets we serve each day as well as our investors and the financial community, is a tremendous opportunity that we expect to make the most of,” said Mr Sutter.

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Apollo Management, founded in 1990, is among the most active and successful private investment firms in the United States in terms of both number of investment transactions completed and aggregate dollars invested.

Covalence, with a workforce of 7,125 people in 38 manufacturing facilities, primarily in the US but also in Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Korea and India, is a major producer of a wide range of products, including polyethylene-based films, industrial tapes, medical specialties, packaging, heat-shrinkable coatings and specialty laminates. In the US, it is the number one producer of garbage bags, duct tape and niche laminated and coated products.