Dear Team,
Happy New Year.
Earlier this week, more than 100 of Mauser’s leaders from around the world gathered in Oak Brook for our 2026 Global Leadership Meeting. The objective of this meeting was clear: to align on our priorities, strengthen collaboration across business units, and ensure we are positioned to execute without fail. Just as importantly, it was about reaffirming our commitment to our mission—to be the leading provider of industrial packaging solutions for customers who value innovation, sustainability, and industry‑leading service.
I believe we achieved these objectives during the meeting and are ready to win in 2026!
The basis for my optimism is easy to understand. In 2025, we delivered significant successes—both high‑profile achievements such as record safety performance, stronger customer relationships, a Bronze EcoVadis rating, the Basware rollout, and the refinancing of our credit facilities, as well as numerous additional initiatives across the company that strengthened our operations, systems, and long‑term foundation. These accomplishments reflect strong teamwork across Mauser.
At the same time, we did not meet all the objectives we set at the start of the year. We fell short of our financial targets, execution was inconsistent in some areas, and quality and service could have and should have been better. We must now build on these shortcomings and learn from them to strengthen our operation going forward.
The outlook for our customers is mixed with many of them believing that 2026 will be a difficult year for them. We need to be prepared for this as global uncertainty continues, and our customers remain ultra focused on cost and expect perfect performance from their suppliers. We are well positioned to execute in this environment—better positioned than our competitors. Now is the time to translate that strength into results by delivering on our 2026 priorities:
- Drive organic sales growth through strong regional and local execution
- Execute key operational and productivity initiatives with discipline and consistency
- Deliver corporate and inorganic initiatives with a strong focus on rigorous, on‑time project execution
- Continue investing in our Billion Dollar Plan—our people, facilities, sustainability, innovation, and leadership
Finally, I want to be clear about my expectations and the non-negotiables for this year as we execute on our plans: we will grow sales, deliver a record year in EIP, improve our project management skills and increase profitability. Your engagement in helping us achieve our priorities is critical, and we will be talking a lot more about these as the year progresses.
We are accountable for our future. If we collaborate, execute with discipline, and stay focused on what matters most, 2026 will be an awesome year for us.
Thank you for your continued dedication. I look forward to what we will accomplish together.
Sincerely,
Mark Burgess
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mauser Packaging Solutions