Viskase Companies, Inc.

Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2009)

Competition from better-capitalized companies forcing price competition.
Dependence on a limited number of raw material suppliers.
Failure to adapt to industry changes in casings technology.
Potential negative impact from food safety concerns.
Changing dietary trends and consumer preferences.
Capital-intensive nature of the business and potential difficulty in obtaining financing.
Business interruptions at production facilities.
Significant minimum contribution requirements for the U.S. defined benefit plan.
Political and economic risks in foreign countries and currency fluctuations.
Customer consolidation and increasing competition.
Potential challenges in integrating acquired businesses.
Inadequate or violated intellectual property rights.
Significant costs associated with environmental regulations.
Substantial level of indebtedness.
Potential misalignment of interests between controlling stockholder and other stakeholders.

Focus on product quality, development, service, and distribution to differentiate products.
Seeking alternative raw material suppliers.
Investing in technological advances to maintain compliance with safety standards and environmental laws.
Streamlining productive capacity.
Actions to reduce labor costs (freezing pension plan, variable defined contribution plan, relocating facilities, etc.).
Looking for additional suppliers for key materials to obtain lowest prices.
Efforts to enhance product offering to benefit customers.
Regularly engaging in discussions with other companies regarding strategic transactions.
Enforcing intellectual property rights.
Incurring significant capital and operating expenditures to comply with environmental laws.
Obtaining funds to pay expenses and repay indebtedness primarily from operations and refinancing.
Implementing measures to manage risks associated with international operations.

Climate Change Data