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Contingencies and Legal Matters
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Contingencies and Legal Matters
Contingencies and Legal Matters
Litigation
The Company is involved in certain legal actions and claims arising in the ordinary course of business. While the outcome of these legal actions and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, it is the opinion of management that the outcome of any such claim which is pending or threatened, either individually or on a combined basis, will not have a material effect on the consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity of the Company.

Income Taxes
The Company periodically undergoes examination by the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") as well as various state and foreign jurisdictions. These tax authorities routinely challenge certain deductions and credits reported by the Company on its income tax returns. No significant tax audit findings are being contested at this time with either the IRS or any state or foreign tax authority.

Environmental, Health and Safety Matters
The Company is subject to federal, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances relating to various environmental, health and safety matters. The Company is in compliance with, or is taking actions designed to ensure compliance with, these laws, regulations and ordinances. However, the nature of the Company's business exposes it to the risk of claims with respect to environmental, health and safety matters, and there can be no assurance that material costs or liabilities will not be incurred in connection with such claims. Except for certain orders issued by environmental, health and safety regulatory agencies, with which management believes the Company is in compliance and which management believes are immaterial to the results of operations of the Company's business, Neenah is not currently named as a party in any judicial or administrative proceeding relating to environmental, health and safety matters.
While the Company has incurred in the past several years, and will continue to incur, capital and operating expenditures in order to comply with environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and ordinances, management believes that the Company's future cost of compliance with environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and ordinances, and its exposure to liability for environmental, health and safety claims will not have a material effect on its financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. However, future events, such as changes in existing laws and regulations or contamination of sites owned, operated or used for waste disposal by the Company (including currently unknown contamination and contamination caused by prior owners and operators of such sites or other waste generators) may give rise to additional costs which could have a material effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
The Company incurs capital expenditures necessary to meet legal requirements and otherwise relating to the protection of the environment at its facilities in the United States and internationally. The Company's anticipated capital expenditures for environmental projects are not expected to have a material effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Employees and Labor Relations
As of December 31, 2017, the Company had approximately 2,612 regular full-time employees of whom 1,174 hourly and 578 salaried employees were located in the United States and 431 hourly and 429 salaried employees were located in Europe. All of the Company's U.S. hourly union employees are represented by the United Steelworkers Union (the "USW"). In Netherlands, most of our employees are eligible to be represented by the Christelijke Nationale Vakbond ("CNV") and the Federatie Nederlandse Vakvereniging ("FNV"). Under Dutch law the union membership is voluntary and does not need to be disclosed to the Company. The collective bargaining arrangement with CNV and FNV will expire in April 2018. Hourly union employees at the Company's Bolton, England manufacturing facility are represented by Unite the Union ("UNITE").
The following table shows the status of the Company's bargaining agreements as of December 31, 2017.
Contract Expiration Date
 
Location
 
Union
 
Number of Employees
January 2018 (c)
 
Whiting, WI (b)
 
USW
 
201
June 2018
 
Neenah, WI (b)
 
USW
 
264
July 2018
 
Munising, MI (b)
 
USW
 
203
February 2019
 
Neenah Germany
 
IG BCE
 
(a)
May 2019
 
Appleton, WI (b)
 
USW
 
103
August 2021
 
Brattleboro, VT
 
USW
 
94
November 2021
 
Lowville, NY
 
USW
 
108
_______________________

(a) Under German law union membership is voluntary and does not need to be disclosed to the Company. As a result, the number of employees covered by the collective bargaining agreement with the IG BCE cannot be determined.
(b) On pension matters, the Whiting, Neenah, Munising and Appleton mills have bargained jointly with the USW. The current agreement on pension matters will remain in effect until September 2019.
(c)
The Company is currently in negotiations with the USW and a new contract is expected to be signed in 2018. Until a new contract is signed, the terms of the previous contract still apply.

Approximately 50 percent of salaried employees and 80 percent of hourly employees of Neenah Germany are eligible to be represented by the Mining, Chemicals and Energy Trade Union, Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie and Energie (the "IG BCE"). In June 2017, the IG BCE and a national trade association representing all employers in the industry signed a collective bargaining agreement covering union employees of Neenah Germany that expires in February 2019. Under German law union membership is voluntary and does not need to be disclosed to the Company. As a result, the number of employees covered by the collective bargaining agreement with the IG BCE that expires in February 2019 cannot be determined. As of December 31, 2017, 668 employees are covered under collective bargaining agreements that have already expired or will expire in the next 12 months, with the exception of the employees covered by the collective bargaining arrangement with the IG BCE.