Koppers Holdings Inc.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to COPPR's Q3 2021 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. If you need assistance, please alert a conference specialist by pressing star followed by zero. Following the presentation, instructions will be given for the question and answer session. Please note that this event is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to Quinn McGuire. Please go ahead.

Thanks, and good morning. I'm Quinn McGuire, Vice President of Investor Relations. Welcome to our third quarter 2021 earnings conference call. We issued our press release earlier today. You may access it via our website at www.coppers.com. As indicated in our announcement, we've also posted materials to the Investor Relations page of our website that will be referenced in today's call. Consistent with our practice and prior quarterly conference calls, this is being broadcast live on our website, and a recording of this call will be available on our website for replay through February 3rd, 2022. At this time, I would like to direct your attention to our forward-looking disclosure statement seen on slide two. Certain comments made on this conference call may be characterized as forward-looking statements as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve a number of assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, including risks described in the cautionary statement included in our press release and in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included in the company's comments, you should not regard the inclusion of such information as a representation that its objectives, plans, and protective results will be achieved. The company's actual results, performance, or achievements may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during this call. References may also be made today to certain non-GAAP financial measures. The company has provided with its press release, which is available on our website, reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Joining me for the call today are Leroy Ball, President and CEO of Coppers, and Mike Zuge, Chief Financial Officer. I'll now turn the discussion over to Leroy.

Thank you, Quinn. Good morning, everyone. Now, for those of you who joined us in mid-September for our Coppers Investor Day, we hope you enjoyed the event. You know, our team was very encouraged by the interest shown and to have the opportunity to provide some additional context on our long-term business strategy. While I'm disappointed to post lower than expected results in our first quarter following that day, I'd also like to emphasize that we're playing the long game, which, as we all know, can be difficult to do as a public company. That's where our focus has been, and that's where it remains, and that's why we were excited to take the opportunity to unveil our five-year plan. Our interest is in attracting an investor base that's also in it for the long game. And those investors that are interested in owning an essential and underappreciated business model, which has a lot of upside, should have a lot to like with the future we've laid out for coppers. The replay of the full webcast from our investor day on September 13th is still available on our website. So now let's get started with a review of our zero harm safety performance for the third quarter with special attention on COVID-19 as seen on slide four. The following guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, COPRS continues to require masks for those working indoors with some flexibility as case numbers dictate in each region. The vaccination rates for the company as a whole currently track at 64% globally with 61% in North America and 81% across our international locations. Overseas, Denmark lifted its COVID restrictions throughout the country now that more than 75% of its population is fully vaccinated. And as a result, we've relaxed protocols at our new board facility. In Australia, lockdowns are being lifted as vaccination rates there have exceeded 60%. However, we have elected to keep our COVID protocols in place at our sites there for the time being. I saw this morning as we were making final preparations for this call that the details regarding President Biden's executive order have been released. And over the coming days, we'll be reviewing it to determine exactly how it must be deployed and we'll put the necessary plans and protocols in place. As described on slide five, we're going through our annual open enrollment process in the U.S. for employees to select their health insurance for 2022. And after careful consideration, we've decided to institute a monthly healthcare surcharge to employees that remain unvaccinated. That decision was made to help mitigate the additional cost of care for those that end up hospitalized as a result of contracting COVID. The data supports that for those who do contract COVID, the health results and cost of care for unvaccinated individuals far exceeds that for the vaccinated. I cannot in good conscience ask our vaccinated employees to bear the additional cost that is brought on by others that are consciously choosing to not vaccinate for their own personal reasons. Also, we've adjusted our zero harm life-saving rules to reflect current COVID safety requirements, and we're maintaining all safety and health protocols regarding masks and social distancing. All Copper's office locations have been made available to employees, and those who have been vaccinated must wear masks in common areas, while unvaccinated employees are encouraged to work remotely. Unvaccinated individuals who come into the office must wear masks and maintain social distance at all times. We're now planning a return to the office beginning on January 3rd of 2022, and a hybrid work arrangement between office and home will remain in effect and available to employees as appropriate. At this time, as shown on slide six and as announced back in August, Mike Zuge, our Chief Financial Officer and a critical member of the Coppers leadership team the past seven years, has announced his retirement effective at the end of this year. Now, that means that this will be Mike's last earnings call, so I want to recognize him for that and take a moment to thank him for everything that he has brought to our organization in his time here. We will miss him, I will miss him, and all of us at Coppers wish him all the best in retirement. Next week, Mike will be recognized here in Pittsburgh with a Career Achievement Award as a CFO of the Year for his tremendous contributions he's made to the several organizations he's worked at during his career. Without any further ado, I'll hand over the podium to Mike for the final time. Mike?