UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain information contained in the definitive proxy statement for the Company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 23, 20172018 is incorporated by reference into Part III hereof.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Effective January 1, 2018, Neenah Paper, Inc. changed its name to Neenah, Inc. In this report, unless the context requires otherwise, references to "we," "us," "our," "Neenah" or the "Company" are intended to mean Neenah, Paper, Inc., its consolidated subsidiaries and predecessor companies. The Company's ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange remains "NP" and names of subsidiaries were not affected.

Our technical products business is a leading international producer of transportation, water and other filter media and durable, saturated and coated substrates for a variety of end markets. We focus on categories where we believe we are, or can be, a market leader. These categories include filtration media for transportation, water and other uses, backings for specialty tapes and abrasives, performance labels, digital image transfer, and other specialty markets. Our dedicated technical products manufacturing facilities are located near Munich, Germany, inEerbeek, Netherlands, Bolton, England, in Munising, Michigan, and in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In addition, certain technical products are manufactured along with fine paper and packaging products in shared facilities located in upstate New York, Brattleboro, Vermont, and Quakertown, Pennsylvania. In 2017, a filtration machine (which was converted from a fine paper machine) will beginand adjacent saturating plant began production in Appleton, Wisconsin, a site also shared with the fine paper and packaging business. ForOn November 1, 2017, we completed the acquisition of W.A. Sanders Coldenhove Holding B.V. ("Coldenhove" and the "Coldenhove Acquisition") for approximately $45 million. Coldenhove is a description ofspecialty materials manufacturer based in the shared facilities, see Item 2, "Properties."Netherlands, with a leading position in digital transfer media and other technical products.

We believe our fine paper and packaging business is the leading supplier of premium printing, packaging, and other high end specialty papers in North America. Our products include some of the most recognized and preferred papersbrands in North America, where we enjoy leading market positions in many of our product categories. We sell our products primarily to

For a description of the shared facilities, see Item 2, "Properties."

Our corporate structure consists of Neenah, Paper, Inc. and seveneight direct wholly owned subsidiaries.

Neenah, Paper, Inc. is a Delaware corporation that holds our trademarks and patents related to all of our U.S. businesses (except Neenah Paper FVC, Inc), all of our U.S. fine paper and packaging inventory, the real estate, mills and manufacturing assets associated with our fine paper and packaging operations in Neenah and Whiting, Wisconsin and all of the equity in our subsidiaries listed below. The common stock of Neenah is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NP."

Neenah Paper Michigan, Inc. is a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Neenah that owns the real estate, mill and manufacturing assets associated with our U.S. technical products business in Munising, Michigan.

Neenah Paper FVC, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Neenah that owns all of the equity of Neenah Paper FR, LLC. Neenah Paper FR, LLC ("Fox River") is a Delaware limited liability company that owns the real estate, mill and manufacturing assets associated with our fine paper and packaging operation in Appleton, Wisconsin.Wisconsin and leases the real estate and owns the manufacturing assets associated with our fine paper and packaging operations in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Neenah Paper International Holding Company, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Neenah that owns all of the equity of Neenah Paper International, LLC. Neenah Paper International, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company that owns all of the equity of Neenah Germany GmbH and in conjunction with Neenah Germany GmbH all of the equity of Neenah Services GmbH & Co. KG.

NPCC Holding Company LLC is a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Neenah that owns all of the equity of Neenah Paper Company of Canada ("Neenah Canada"). Neenah Canada is a Nova Scotia unlimited liability corporation that holds certain post-employment liabilities of our former Canadian operations.

Neenah Paper International Finance Company BV is a private company with limited liability organized under the laws of the Netherlands and a wholly owned subsidiary of Neenah that facilitates the financing of our international operations.

Neenah Filtration, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Neenah that owns all of the equity of Neenah Technical Materials, Inc. ("NTM") and Neenah Filtration Appleton, LLC ("NFA"). NTM is a Massachusetts corporation that owns all of the real estate, mills and manufacturing assets associated with our technical materials business in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. NFA is a Delaware limited liability company that owns certain assets associated with our filtration business in Appleton, Wisconsin. The filtration assets in Appleton, Wisconsin have started production in January 2017. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources."

Neenah FMK Holdings, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Neenah that owns all of the equity of ASP FiberMark, LLC ("ASP"). ASP is a Delaware limited liability company that owns all of the equity of Neenah Northeast, LLC ("NNE") and Neenah International UK Limited, a United Kingdom corporation ("Neenah UK"). NNE is a Delaware limited liability company that owns certain real estate, mills and manufacturing assets associated with our fine paper and packaging business and technical products business located in Brattleboro, Vermont, West Springfield, Massachusetts, Quakertown and Reading, Pennsylvania, and Brownville and Lowville, New York. Neenah UK is a United Kingdom corporation that owns all of the equity of Neenah Red Bridge International Limited ("Red Bridge"). Red Bridge is a United Kingdom corporation that owns all of the real estate, manufacturing assets and inventory associated with our technical products business in Bolton, England.

Neenah was incorporated in April 2004 in contemplation of the spin-off by Kimberly-Clark Corporation ("Kimberly-Clark") of its technical products and fine paper businesses in the United States and its Canadian pulp business (collectively, the "Pulp and Paper Business"). We had no material assets or activities until Kimberly-Clark's transfer to us of the Pulp and Paper business on November 30, 2004. On that date, Kimberly-Clark completed the distribution of all of the shares of our common stock to the stockholders of Kimberly-Clark (the "Spin-Off"). Following the Spin-Off, we are an independent public company and Kimberly-Clark has no ownership interest in us.

In July 2014, we purchased all of the outstanding equity of Crane Technical Materials, Inc. from Crane & Co., Inc. The acquired business provides performance-oriented wet laid nonwoven media for water filtration end markets as well as environmental, energy and industrial uses. The business has two manufacturing facilities in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

On October 31, 2015,November 1, 2017, we sold our paper mill located near Frankfurt, Germany (the "Lahnstein Mill") topurchased all of the Kajo Neukirchen Group (the "Buyer") for net cash proceedsoutstanding equity of approximately $5.4 million.Coldenhove. The Lahnstein Mill, which had annual sales of approximately €50 million, had been operating asacquired business is a stand-alonespecialty materials manufacturer based in the Netherlands, with a leading position in digital transfer media and other technical products. The business has one manufacturing non-woven wallcoverings and various other specialty papers.facility in Eerbeek, Netherlands. See Note 134 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, "Discontinued Operations."Acquisitions."

"FiberMark Acquisition"). We added specialty coating and finishing capabilities with this acquisition, particularly in luxury packaging and technical products. The results of operations and assets related to the FiberMark Acquisition are reflected in each of our business segments.

Our mission is to create value by improving the image and performance of everything we touch. We expect to create value by growing in specialized niche markets that value performance or image and where we have competitive advantages. In managing our businesses, we believe that achieving and maintaining a leadership position in our markets, responding effectively to customer needs and competitive challenges, employing capital optimally, controlling costs, and managing risks are important to our long-term success. Strategies to deliver value include:

The following is a description of certain key products and markets:

Filtration media for transportation including induction air, fuel, oil, and cabin air applications. Transportation filtration media are sold to suppliers of automotive companies as original equipment on new cars and trucks as well as to the automotive aftermarket, which represents the large majority of sales.

Filtration media for water and other industrial end markets. Primary applications include reverse osmosis, catalytic conversion, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, pervaporation and vapor permeation, as well as other applications for specialty markets.

Specialty backings including a) saturated and unsaturated crepe and flat paper tapes sold to manufacturers to produce finished pressure sensitive products for sale in automotive, transportation, manufacturing, building construction, and industrial general purpose applications, including sales in the consumer do-it-yourself retail channel and b) coated lightweight abrasive paper used in the automotive, construction, metal and woodworking industries for both dry and wet sanding applications.

Label and tag products made from both saturated base label stock and purchased synthetic base label stock, with coatings applied to allow for high quality variable and digital printing. The synthetic label stock is recognized as a high quality, UV (ultra-violet) stable product used for outdoor applications. Label and tag stock is sold to pressure sensitive coaters, who in turn sell the coated label and tag stock to the label printing community.

Other latex saturated and coated papers for use by a wide variety of manufacturers. Premask paper is used as a protective over wrap for products during the manufacturing process and for applying signs, labeling and other finished products. Medical packaging paper is a polymer impregnated base sheet that provides a breathable sterilization barrier that provides unique properties. Image

Digital transfer papers used to transfer an imageink or images from paper to tee shirts,clothing, hats, coffee mugs, and other surfaces using a proprietary imaging coating for use in digital printing applications. Publishing and security papers used to produce book covers, stationery, fancy packaging and passports. Other specialty products include clean room papers, durable printing papers, release papers and furniture backers.

Commercial printing papers include premium writing, text and cover papers, and envelopes. Uses include advertising collateral, stationery, corporate identity packages and brochures, pocket folders, annual reports, advertising inserts, direct mail, business cards, scrapbooks, and a variety of other uses where colors, texture, coating, unique finishes or heavier weight papers are desired. Our market leading brands in this category include CLASSIC®, CLASSIC CREST®, ESSE®, ENVIRONMENT®, CAPITOL BOND®, ROYAL SUNDANCE®, SOUTHWORTH®, and TOUCHE® trademarks. Our fine paper and packaging business has an exclusive agreement to manufacture, market and distribute Crane & Co.'s CRANE'S CREST®, CRANE'S BOND®, and CRANE'S LETTRA®, branded fine papers in the commercial print category. Our fine paper and packaging business has an exclusive agreement to market and distribute Gruppo Cordenons SpA's SO...SILK®, PLIKE® and STARDREAM® branded fine papers in the U.S. and Canada. The fine paper and packaging business also sells private watermarked paper and other specialty writing, text, and cover papers. Additionally, the fine paper and packaging business provides leading solutions in the wide format arena, led by its Neenah Wide Format® and CONVERD® brands.

Premium packaging and label papersproducts are used for wine, spirits and beer labels, folding cartons, box wrap, bags, hang tags, and stored value cards servicing high-end retail, cosmetics, spirits, and electronics end-use markets. Our market leading brands in these categories include NEENAH® Folding Board, "ESTATE LABEL®, Neenah® Box Wrap, PELLAQ®, KIVAR®, SKIVERTEX®, ILLUSIO®, and SENZO®.

The fine paper and packaging business also produces and sells other specialty papers that address a consumer's need for enhanced image such as translucent papers, art papers, papers for optical scanning and other specialized applications.

Several products (filtration media, abrasives, specialty tapes, labels) are used in markets that are directly affected by economic business cycles. Other market segments such as image transfer papers used in small/home office and consumer applications are relatively stable. Most products are performance-based and require qualification at customers; however, certain categories may also be subject to price competition and the substitution of lower cost substrates in some less demanding applications.

The technical products business relies on a team of direct sales representatives and customer service representatives to market and sell approximately 95 percent of its sales volume directly to customers and converters.

The technical products business has more than 500 customers worldwide. The distribution of sales in 20162017 was approximately 4347 percent in North America, 3536 percent in Europe and 2217 percent in Latin America and Asia. Customers typically convert and transform base papers and film into finished rolls and sheets by adding adhesives, coatings, and finishes. These transformed products are then sold to end-users.

Sales to the technical products business's three largest customers combined represented approximately 1415 percent of total sales for the segment in 2016.2017. Although a complete loss of any of these customers would cause a temporary decline in the business's sales volume, the decline could be partially offset by expanding sales to existing customers, and further offset over a several month period with the addition of new customers.

The fine paper and packaging business sells its products in a variety of channels including authorized paper distributors, converters, retailers, and direct to end users. Sales to distributors account for approximately 60 percent of revenue in the fine paper and packaging business. During 2016,2017, approximately 10 percent of the sales of our fine paper and packaging business were exported to markets outside the United States.

Sales to each of the two largest customercustomers of the fine paper and packaging business represented approximately 15 percent of its total sales in 2016.2017. We practice limited sales distribution to improve our ability to control the marketing of our products. Although a complete loss of this customerthese customers would cause a temporary decline in the business's sales volume, the decline could be partially offset by expanding sales to existing customers, and further offset over a several month period with the addition of new customers.

The following graphs present further information about our businesses by geographic area and product line (dollars in millions):

(in Millions)

(in Millions)

Our technical products business acquires all of its specialized pulp requirements from two global suppliers and certain critical specialty latex grades from four suppliers. In general, these supply arrangements are not covered by formal contracts, butand represent multi-year business relationships that have historically been sufficient to meet our needs. We expect these relationships to continue to operate in a satisfactory manner in the future. In the event of an interruption of production at any one supplier, we believe that each of these suppliers individually would be able to satisfy our short-term requirements for specialized pulp or specialty latex. In the event of a long-term disruption in our supply of specialized pulp or specialty latex, we believe we would be able to substitute other pulp grades or other latex grades that would allow us to meet required product performance characteristics and incur only a limited disruption in our production. As a result, we do not believe that the substitution of such alternative pulp or latex grades would have a material effect on our operations.

The equipment used to manufacture the products of our technical products and fine paper and packaging businesses uses significant amounts of energy, primarily electricity, natural gas, oil and coal. We generate substantially all of our electrical energy at the Munising mill and approximately 25 percent of the electrical energy at our mills in Appleton, Wisconsin and Bruckmühl, Germany. We also purchase electrical energy from external sources, including electricity generated from renewable sources.

Availability of energy is not expected to be a problem in the foreseeable future, but the purchase price of such energy can and likely will fluctuate significantly based on changes in demand and other factors.

Fine paper and packaging sales terms range between 20 and 30 days with discounts of zero to two percent for customer payments, with discounts of one percent and 20-day terms used most often. Extended credit terms are offered to customers located in certain international markets. Supplier invoices are typically paid within 60 days.

Our premium packaging business is focused on high-end packaging needs in end market verticals like beauty products, spirits and retail.   Primary bases of competition are similarly brand recognition, product quality, customer service, product availability, and a variety of colors and textures. Premium packaging is primarily a North American business, but we also sell to customers in Asia and other markets outside the U.S. We believe the premium packaging market to be highly fragmented, with multiple competitors, many of which produce premium packaging products as a small subset of larger packaging operations.

Our technical products business maintains research and development laboratories in Feldkirchen-Westerham, Germany, Eerbeek, Netherlands, Munising, Michigan and Pittsfield, Massachusetts to support its strategy of developing new products and technologies, and to support growth in its existing product lines and other strategically important markets. We also have a research and development laboratory in West Springfield, Massachusetts that supports both our technical products and fine paper and packaging businesses. We have continually invested in product research and development with spending of $8.9 million in 2017, $9.4 million in 2016 and $6.8 million in 2015 and $5.7 million in 2014.2015.

We own more than 100 granted patents and have multiple pending patent applications in the United States, Canada, Europe and certain other countries covering image transfer paper, abrasives and medical packaging, and other paper processing. We also own more than 150 trademarks with registrations in approximately 80 countries. Our image transfer patents have contributed to establishing the technical products business as a leading global supplier of image transfer papers through our highly recognized JET-PRO®, 3G JET-OPAQUE®, TECHNIPRINT®, LASER-ONE OPAQUE® and IMAGE CLIP® brands. The KIMDURA® and MUNISING LP® trademarks have also made a significant contribution to the marketing of synthetic film and clean room papers of the technical products business. And with Neenah’s recent acquisition of Coldenhove Papier, Neenah added more depth and strength to its technical products portfolio with the well-recognized dye-sublimation and digital decor JETCOL® and DIGICOL® brands, and our global trademark collection demonstrates strong product brand recognition.which are also supported by patented technology.

For more than 100 years, Neenah’s fine paper and packaging business has built its market leading reputation on creating and manufacturing trademarked brands for premium writing, text, cover, digital, packaging, and specialty needs. The Neenah Paper

CREST®, CLASSIC® Linen, CLASSIC® Laid, CLASSIC COLUMNS®, CLASSIC® Stipple, CLASSIC® Woodgrain, and CLASSIC® Techweave), ASTROBRIGHTS®, ENVIRONMENT®, The Design Collection, ROYAL SUNDANCE® Papers,, SOUTHWORTH® and many more. Our fine paper and packaging business provides unique and sustainable packaging papers and custom solutions for premium packaging needs. With brands that stand for consistency and quality such as NEENAH® Folding Board, NEENAH® Box Wrap, ESTATE LABEL®, BELLA® Label, and NEENAH IMAGEMAX® Paper Card, our fine paper and packaging business enables leading and emerging brands to deliver on their brand’s promise. In 2012, we entered the retail channel by acquiring the brand portfolio of Wausau Paper including ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers, the first brightly colored paper in the industry, followed by the SOUTHWORTH Brand, a time-honored product for business professionals. Our fine paper and packaging business maintains a well-rounded and well-respected portfolio of brands allowing us to be recognized as an industry leader setting standards for quality, consistency, and dependability on press.

The operating results atfor each of our businesses are influenced by the timing of our annual maintenance downs, which are generally scheduled in the third quarter.

As of December 31, 2016,2017, we had approximately 2,3032,612 regular full-time employees of whom 1,0991,174 hourly and 526578 salaried employees were located in the United States and 405431 hourly and 273429 salaried employees were located in Europe.

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 2015,2017, 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 June 2017.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 June 2017February 2019 cannot be determined.

As of December 31, 2016, no2017, 668 employees are covered under collective bargaining agreements that expire in the next 12 months, with the exception of the employees covered by the collective bargaining arrangement with the IG BCE. We believe we have satisfactory relations with our employees covered by collective bargaining agreements and do not expect the negotiation of new collective bargaining agreements to have a material effect on our results of operations or cash flows. See Note 12 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, "Contingencies and Legal Matters — Employees and Labor Relations."

Our operations are subject to federal, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances relating to various environmental, health and safety matters. We believe our operations are in compliance with, or we are taking actions designed to ensure compliance with, these laws, regulations and ordinances. However, the nature of our operations exposes us to the risk of claims concerning non-compliance with environmental, health and safety laws or standards, and there can be no assurance that material costs or liabilities will not be incurred in connection with those claims. Except for certain orders issued by environmental, health and safety regulatory agencies with which we believe we are in compliance and which we believe are immaterial to our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity, we are not currently named as a party in any judicial or administrative proceeding relating to environmental, health and safety matters.

Greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions have increasingly become the subject of political and regulatory focus. Concern over potential climate change, including global warming, has led to legislative and regulatory initiatives directed at limiting GHG emissions. In addition to certain federal proposals in the United States to regulate GHG emissions, Germany, the United Kingdom (“U.K.”) and all the states in which we operate are currently considering GHG legislation or regulations, either individually and/or as part of regional initiatives. While not all are likely to become law it is reasonably possible that additional climate change related mandates will be forthcoming, and it is expected that they may adversely impact our costs by increasing energy costs and raw material prices, requiring operational or equipment modifications to reduce emissions and creating costs to comply with regulations or to mitigate the financial consequences of such compliance.

While we have 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, we believe that our future cost of compliance with environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and ordinances, and our exposure to liability for environmental, health and safety claims will not have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. However, future events, such as changes in existing laws and regulations, new legislation to limit GHG emissions or contamination of sites owned, operated or used for waste disposal by us (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 our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

We have planned capital expenditures to comply with environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and ordinances during the period 20172018 through 20182019 of approximately $1 million to $2 million annually. Our anticipated capital expenditures for environmental projects are not expected to have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As such, we file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Our SEC filings are available to the public on the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file at the SEC's Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NP. You may inspect the reports, proxy statements and other information concerning us at the offices of the New York Stock Exchange, 20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10005.

Our web site is www.neenah.com. Information on our web site is not incorporated by reference in this document. Our reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, as well as amendments to those reports, are and will be available free of

charge on our web site as soon as reasonably practicable after we file or furnish such reports with the SEC. In addition, you may request a copy of any of these reports (excluding exhibits) at no cost upon written request to us at: Investor Relations, Neenah, Paper, Inc., 3460 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 600, Alpharetta, Georgia 30005.

You should carefully consider each of the following risks and all of the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Some of the risks described below relate principally to our business and the industry in which we operate, while

Our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially affected by any of these risks, and, as a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations.

Our business will suffer if we are unable to effectively respond to decreased demand for some of our products due to conditions in the global economy or secular pressures in some markets.

We have experienced and may experience in the future decreased demand for some of our products due to slowing or negative global economic growth, uncertainty in credit markets, declining consumer and business confidence, fluctuating commodity prices, increased unemployment and other challenges affecting the global economy. Parts of our fine paper and packaging business are subject to electronic substitution.substitution and, for fine paper products in particular, are in secular decline. Our efforts to offset these declines with new fine paper and packaging products and growth in existing fine paper and office products categories are not certain to fully offset the market declines, and evaluation of scope our manufacturing footprint may be required in the future. In addition, our customers may experience deterioration of their businesses, cash flow shortages, and difficulty obtaining financing. If we are unable to implement business strategies to effectively respond to decreased demand for our products, our financial position, cash flows and results of operations would be adversely affected.

Changes in international geopolitical and macro economic conditions generally, and particularly in Germany, could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Fluctuations in the prices of and the demand for products could result in smaller profit margins and lower sales volumes.

Our operating results and business prospects could be adversely affected by risks related to the countries outside the United States in which we have manufacturing facilities or sell our products, including Germany, the Eurozone and elsewhere.the U.K. Downturns in economic activity, adverse tax consequences, fluctuations in the value of local currency versus the U.S. dollar, or any change in social, political, macro economic or labor conditions in any of these countries or regions could negatively affect our financial results.

Historically, economic and market shifts, and fluctuations in capacity have created cyclical changes in prices, sales volume and margins for products in the paper, packaging and related industries. The length and magnitude of industry cycles have varied over time and by product, but generally reflect changes in macroeconomic conditions and levels of industry capacity. The overall levels of demand for many of our products reflect fluctuations in levels of end-user demand, which depend in large part on general macroeconomic conditions in North America and regional economic conditions in our markets (including Europe, Asia, and Central and South America), as well as foreign currency exchange rates. The foregoing factors could materially and adversely impact our sales, cash flows, profitability and results of operations.

The availability of and prices for raw materials, energy and energytransportation services will significantly impact our business.

Our technical products business acquires allcertain of its specialized pulp requirements from two global suppliers and certain critical specialty latex grades from foura limited number of suppliers. In general, these supply arrangements are not covered by formal contracts butand represent multi-year business relationships that have historically been sufficient to meet our needs. We expect these relationships to continue to operate in a satisfactory manner in the future. In the event of an interruption of production at any one supplier, we believe that each of these suppliers individually would be able to satisfy our short-term requirements for

Our fine paper and packaging business acquires a substantial majority of the cotton fiber used in the production of certain branded bond paper products pursuant to annual agreements with two North American producers. The balance of our cotton fiber requirements are acquired through "spot market" purchases from a variety of other producers. We believe that a partial or total disruption in the production of cotton fibers at our two primary suppliers would increase our reliance on "spot market" purchases with a likely corresponding increase in cost.

Our operating results are likely to fluctuate.

Our operating results are subject to substantial quarterly and annual fluctuations due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Operating results could be adversely affected by general economic conditions causing a downturn in the market for paper products. Additional factors that could affect our results include, among others, changes in the market price of pulp, other raw materials and distribution/transportation services, the effects of competitive pricing pressures, production capacity levels and manufacturing yields, availability and cost of products from our suppliers, the gain or loss of significant customers, our ability to develop, introduce and market new products and technologies on a timely basis, changes in the mix of products produced and sold, seasonal customer demand, the relative strength of the Euro versus the U.S. dollar, increasing interest rates and environmental costs. The timing and effect of the foregoing factors are difficult to predict, and these or other factors could materially adversely affect our quarterly or annual operating results.

We face many competitors, several of which have greater financial and other resources.

We face competition in each of our business segments from companies that produce the same type of products that we produce or that produce lower priced alternative products that customers may use instead of our products. Some of our competitors have greater financial, sales and marketing, or research and development resources than we do. Greater financial resources and product development capabilities may also allow our competitors to respond more quickly to new opportunities or changes in customer requirements.

Our businesses are significantly dependent on sales to their largest customers.

Sales to the two largest customercustomers of the fine paper and packaging business each represented approximately 15 percent of total sales for the segment in 2016.2017. Sales to the three largest customers of the technical products business combined represented approximately 1415 percent of total sales for the segment in 2016.2017. A significant loss of business from any of our major fine paper and packaging or technical products customers may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. We are also subject to credit risk associated with our customer concentration. If one or more of our largest fine paper and packaging or technical products customers were to become bankrupt, insolvent or otherwise were unable to pay for services provided, we may incur significant write-offs of accounts receivable.

We cannot be certain that our tax planning strategies will be effective and that our research and development tax credits will continue to be available to offset our tax liability.

We are continuously undergoing examination by the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") as well as taxing authorities in various state and foreign jurisdictions in which we operate. The IRS and other taxing authorities routinely challenge certain deductions and credits reported on our income tax returns.

As of December 31, 2016,2017, we had $25.2$15.5 million of U.S. federal and $6.9 million of U.S. state research and development tax credits ("R&D Credits") which, if not used, will expire between 20272030 and 20352037 for the U.S. federal R&D Credits and

between 20172020 and 20312032 for the state R&D Credits. The availability of state NOLs and state credits to offset taxable income and income tax, respectively, could also be substantially reduced if we were to undergo an "ownership change" as defined within certain state tax codes.

We have significant obligations for pension and other postretirement benefits.

We have significant obligations for pension and other postretirement benefits which could require future funding beyond that which we have funded in the past or which we currently anticipate. At December 31, 2016,2017, our projected pension benefit obligations were $370.9$463.9 million and exceeded the fair value of pension plan assets by $52.8$63.5 million. In 2016,2017, we made total contributions to qualified pension trusts of $17.8$14.3 million. In addition, during 20162017 we paid pension benefits for unfunded

We may be required to pay material amounts under multiemployer pension plans.

We contribute to Thethe PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund ("the PIUMPF"(the “PIUMPF"), a multiemployer pension plan. The amount of our annual contributions to the PIUMPF is negotiated with the plan and the bargaining unit representing our employees covered by the plan. In 2016,2017, we contributed approximately $0.1 million to the PIUMPF. In addition, in the event of a partial or complete withdrawal by us from the PIUMPF at a time when the plan is underfunded, we would be liable for a proportionate share of such plan's unfunded vested benefits, referred to as a withdrawal liability. In the event that any other contributing employer withdrew from the PIUMPF at a time when the plan is underfunded, and such employer cannot satisfy its obligations to the plan at the time of withdrawal, then the proportionate share of the plan's unfunded vested benefits that would be allocable to us and to the other remaining contributing employers, would increase and there could be an increase to our required annual contributions. In future negotiations of collective bargaining agreements with the labor union that participates in the PIUMPF, we may decide to discontinue participation in the plan and we could incur additional costs associated with no longer participating in the plan.

The PIUMPF was certified to be in "critical status" for the plan year beginning January 1, 2010, and continued to be in critical status for the plan year beginning January 1, 2016.2017. In 2013, two large employers withdrew from the PIUMPF. Further withdrawals by other contributing employers could cause a "mass withdrawal" from, or effectively a termination of, the PIUMPF or alternatively we could elect to withdraw. Although we have no current intention to withdraw from the PIUMPF, if we were to withdraw, either completely or partially, we would incur a withdrawal liability based on our share of the PIUMPF's unfunded vested benefits. Based on information as of December 31, 20152016 provided by the PIUMPF and reviewed by our actuarial consultant, we estimate that, as of December 31, 2016,2017, the payments that we would be required to make to PIUMPF in the event of our complete withdrawal would be approximately $0.1 million per year on a pre-tax basis. These payments would continue for 20 years, unless we were deemed to be included in a "mass withdrawal" from

the PIUMPF, in which case these payments would continue in perpetuity. However, we are not able to determine the exact amount of our withdrawal liability because the amount could be higher or lower depending on the nature and timing of any triggering event, the funded status of the plan and our level of contributions to the plan prior to the triggering event. These withdrawal liability payments would be in addition to pension contributions to any new pension plan adopted or contributed to by us to replace the PIUMPF and could have a material effect on our cash flows. Adverse changes to pension laws and regulations could increase the likelihood and amount of our liabilities arising under the PIUMPF.

The outcome of legal actions and claims may adversely affect us.

We are involved in legal actions and claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. The outcome of such legal actions and claims against us cannot be predicted with certainty. Legal actions and claims against us could have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Labor interruptions would adversely affect our business.

Except for our Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Brownville, New York and Quakertown, Pennsylvania manufacturing facilities which are non-union, substantially all of our hourly employees are unionized. In addition, some key customers and suppliers are also unionized. Strikes, lockouts or other work stoppages or slowdowns involving our unionized employees, and/or those of our suppliers and customers, could have a material effect on us.

If we are unable to continue to implement our business strategies, our financial conditions and operating results could be materially affected.

We may not successfully integrate acquisitions and may be unable to achieve anticipated cost savings or other synergies.

The integration of the operations of acquired companies involves a number of risks and presents financial, managerial, legal and operational challenges. We may have difficulty, and may incur unanticipated expenses related to, integrating information systems, financial reporting activities, and integrating and retaining management and personnel from acquired companies. We may not be able to achieve anticipated cost savings or commercial or growth synergies, for a number of reasons, including contractual constraints and obligations or an inability to take advantage of expected commercial opportunities, increased

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights, which could harm our future success and competitive position.

Our future success and competitive position also depends, in part, upon our ability to obtain and maintain protection for our intellectual property and proprietary rights. Failure to protect our existing intellectual property rights may result in the loss of valuable technologies or may require us to license other companies' intellectual property rights. It is possible that any of our patents may be invalidated, rendered unenforceable, circumvented, challenged or licensed to others or any of our pending or future patent applications may not be issued within the scope of the claims sought by us, if at all. Further, others may develop technologies that are similar or superior to our technologies, duplicate our technologies or design around our patents, and steps taken by us to protect our technologies may not prevent misappropriation of such technologies.

Future dividends on our common stock may be restricted or eliminated.

Dividends are declared at the discretion of our Board of Directors, and future dividends will depend on our future earnings, cash flow, financial requirements and other factors. Our ability to pay cash dividends on our common stock is limited under the terms of both our bank credit agreement and the indenture for our $175 million of senior notes due November 2021 (the "2021 Senior Notes"). As of December 31, 2016,2017, under the most restrictive terms of our bank credit agreement and the

indenture for the 2021 Senior Notes, our ability to pay cash dividends on our common stock is limited, as described under "Risks Relating to Our Indebtedness." There can be no assurance that we will continue to pay dividends in the future.

We may be required to record a charge to our earnings if our goodwill or intangible assets become impaired.

As of December 31, 2016,2017, we had goodwill of $70.4$85.3 million and other intangible assets of $74.0$78.7 million. Goodwill and other intangible assets are recorded at fair value on the date of acquisition. In accordance with applicable accounting guidance, we review goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets at least annually for impairment, and long-lived intangible assets when facts and circumstances warrant an impairment review. Impairment may result from, among other things, deterioration in performance, adverse market conditions, acceleration of the secular decline in fine paper and office products or a lack of success in our efforts to offset these declines with new fine paper and packaging products, which could lead to a reduction in the size of our manufacturing footprint, adverse changes in applicable laws or regulations, and a variety of other factors. The amount of any non-cash impairment would be recognized immediately through our consolidated statement of operations. Any future goodwill or other intangible asset impairment could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

If we have a catastrophic loss or unforeseen or recurring operational problems at any of our facilities, we could suffer significant lost production and/or cost increases.

Our technical products and fine paper and packaging businesses may suffer catastrophic loss due to fire, flood, terrorism, mechanical failure, or other natural or man-made events. If any of our facilities were to experience a catastrophic loss, it could disrupt our operations, delay production, delay or reduce shipments, reduce revenue, and result in significant expenses to repair or replace the facility. These expenses and losses may not be adequately covered by property or business interruption insurance. Even if covered by insurance, our inability to deliver our products to customers, even on a short-term basis, may cause us to lose market share on a more permanent basis.

Fluctuations in currency exchange rates could adversely affect our results.

Exchange rate fluctuations for the Euro do not have a material effect on the operations or cash flows of our German and Dutch technical products business.businesses. Our German and Dutch technical products business incurs most of its costs and sells most of its production in Europe and, therefore, its operations and cash flows are not materially affected by changes in the exchange rate of the Euro relative to the U.S. dollar. Changes in the Euro exchange rate relative to the U.S. dollar will, however, have an effect on our balance sheet and reported results of operations. See Item 7A, "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk — Foreign Currency Risk."

In addition, because we transact business in other foreign countries, some of our revenues and expenses are denominated in a currency other than the local currency of our operations. As a result, changes in exchange rates between the currency in which the transaction is denominated and the local currency of our operations into which the transaction is being recorded can impact the amount of local currency recorded for such transaction. This can result in more or less local currency revenues or costs related to such transaction, and thus have an effect on our reported sales and income before income taxes.

Our operations are subject to federal, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Germanyelsewhere in the world relating to various environmental, health and safety matters. The nature of our operations requires that we invest capital and incur operating costs to comply with those laws, regulations and ordinances and exposes us to the risk of claims concerning non-compliance with environmental, health and safety laws or standards. We cannot assure that significant additional expenditures will not be required to maintain compliance with, or satisfy potential claims arising from, such laws, regulations and ordinances. Future events, such as changes in existing laws and regulations or contamination of sites owned, operated or used for waste disposal by us (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 that could require significantly higher capital expenditures and operating costs, which would reduce the funds otherwise available for operations, capital expenditures, future business opportunities or other purposes.

We are subject to risks associated with possible climate change legislation and various cost and manufacturing issues associated with such legislation.

GHG emissions have increasingly become the subject of political and regulatory focus. Concern over potential climate change, including global warming, has led to legislative and regulatory initiatives directed at limiting GHG emissions. In addition to certain federal proposals in the United States to regulate GHG emissions, Germany, the U.K. and all the states in which we operate are currently considering GHG legislation or regulations, either individually and/or as part of regional initiatives. While not all are likely to become law it is reasonably possible that additional climate change related mandates will be forthcoming, and it is expected that they may adversely impact our costs by increasing energy costs and raw material prices, requiring operational or equipment modifications to reduce emissions and creating costs to comply with regulations or to mitigate the financial consequences of compliance.

We are subject to cybersecurity risks related to breaches of security pertaining to sensitive company, customer, employee and vendor information as well as breaches in the technology that manages operations and other business processes.

We use information technologies to securely manage operations and various business functions. We rely on various technologies to process, store and report on our business and interact with customers, vendors and employees. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Despite our security design and controls, and those of our third party providers, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to cyber attacks by hackers or breaches due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. Any such breach could result in operational disruptions or the misappropriation of sensitive data that could subject us to civil and criminal penalties, litigation or have a negative impact on our reputation. There can be no assurance that such disruptions or misappropriations and the resulting repercussions will not negatively impact our cash flows and materially affect our results of operations or financial condition. The U.S. Congress is considering cybersecurity legislation that, if enacted, could impose additional obligations on us and could expand our potential liability in the event of a cyber-security incident.

Our business may suffer if we do not retain our senior management.

We depend on our senior management. The loss of services of members of our senior management team could adversely affect our business until suitable replacements can be found. There may be a limited number of persons with the requisite skills to serve in these positions and we may be unable to locate or employ qualified personnel on acceptable terms. In addition, our future success requires us to continue to attract and retain competent personnel.

We may not be able to fund our future capital requirements internally or obtain third-party financing.

We may be required or choose to obtain additional debt or equity financing to meet our future working capital requirements, as well as to fund capital expenditures and acquisitions. To the extent we must obtain financing from external sources to fund our capital requirements, we cannot guarantee financing will be available on favorable terms, if at all. As of December 31, 2016,2017, we have required debt payments of $1.2$1.4 million during the year ending December 31, 2017.2018.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow to meet our debt obligations, including the 2021 Senior Notes.

Our ability to make scheduled payments or to refinance our obligations with respect to the 2021 Senior Notes, our other debt and our other liabilities will depend on our financial and operating performance, which, in turn, is subject to prevailing economic conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. If our cash flow and capital

If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and, as a result:

If our operating performance declines in the future or we breach our covenants under our revolving credit facility, we may need to obtain waivers from the lenders under our revolving credit facility to avoid being in default. We may not be able to obtain these waivers. If this occurs, we would be in default under our revolving credit facility.

We have significant indebtedness which subjects us to restrictive covenants relating to the operation of our business.

As of December 31, 2016,2017, we had $175 million of 2021 Senior Notes, $42.9$76.9 million in revolving credit borrowings and $6.8$6.4 million of project financing outstanding. In addition, availability under our bank credit agreement was approximately $125$92 million. Our leverage could have important consequences. For example, it could:

The terms of our indebtedness, including our bank credit agreement and the indenture governing the 2021 Senior Notes, contain covenants restricting our ability to, among other things, incur certain additional debt, incur or create certain liens, make specified restricted payments, pay dividends, authorize or issue capital stock, enter into transactions with our affiliates, consolidate or merge with or acquire another business, sell certain of our assets or liquidate, dissolve or wind-up our Company. Under the most restrictive terms of the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, we are permitted to pay cash dividends on or repurchase shares of our common stock up to the amount available under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, as long as the availability under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement exceeds $25 million. If the availability is below $25 million, we are restricted from paying dividends or repurchasing shares. Under

the most restrictive terms of the 2021 Senior Notes, we are permitted to pay cash dividends of up to $25 million in a calendar year, but not permitted to repurchase shares of our common stock. However, as long as the net leverage ratio (net debt/EBITDA) under the 2021 Senior Notes is below 2.5x, we can pay dividends or repurchase shares without limitation. Refer to Item 7A, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources" for the current limitations on our ability to pay dividends on or repurchase shares of our common stock.

In addition, if the aggregate availability under our revolving credit facilities is less than the greater of (i) $25 million and (ii) 12.5 percent of the maximum aggregate commitments under our revolving credit facilities as then in effect, we will be subject to increased reporting obligations and controls until such time as availability is more than the greater of (a) $35 million and (b) 17.5 percent of the maximum aggregate commitments under our revolving credit facilities as then in effect for at least 60 consecutive days and no default or event of default has occurred or is continuing during such 60-day period.

If aggregate availability under our revolving credit facilities is less than the greater of (i) $20 million and (ii) 10 percent of the maximum aggregate commitments under our revolving credit facilities as then in effect, we are required to comply with a fixed charge coverage ratio (as defined in our bank credit agreement) of not less than 1.1 to 1.0 for the preceding four-quarter period, tested as of the end of each quarter. Such compliance, once required, would no longer be necessary once (x) aggregate

Our revolving credit facilities accrue interest at variable rates. As of December 31, 2016,2017, we had $42.9$76.9 million of revolving credit borrowings outstanding.outstanding which mature on December 18, 2019. We may reduce our exposure to rising interest rates by entering into interest rate hedging arrangements, although those arrangements may result in us incurring higher interest expenses than we would incur without the arrangements. If interest rates increase in the absence of such arrangements, we will need to dedicate more of our cash flow from operations to make payments on our debt. For more information on our liquidity, see Item 7A, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources."

Our failure to comply with the covenants contained in our revolving credit facility or the indenture governing the 2021 Senior Notes could result in an event of default that could cause acceleration of our indebtedness.

Our failure to comply with the covenants and other requirements contained in the indenture governing the 2021 Senior Notes, our revolving credit facility or our other debt instruments could cause an event of default under the relevant debt instrument. The occurrence of an event of default could trigger a default under our other debt instruments, prohibit us from accessing additional borrowings and permit the holders of the defaulted debt to declare amounts outstanding with respect to that debt to be immediately due and payable. Our assets or cash flows may not be sufficient to fully repay borrowings under our outstanding debt instruments, and we may be unable to refinance or restructure the payments on indebtedness on favorable terms, or at all.

Despite our indebtedness levels, we and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantially more indebtedness, which may increase the risks created by our substantial indebtedness.

Because the terms of our bank credit agreement and the indenture governing the 2021 Senior Notes do not fully prohibit us or our subsidiaries from incurring additional indebtedness, we and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, some of which may be secured. If we or any of our subsidiaries incur additional indebtedness, the related risks that we and they face may intensify.

Our bank credit agreement is secured by a majority of our assets.

Our bank credit agreement is secured by a majority of our assets. Availability under our bank credit agreement will fluctuate over time depending on the value of our inventory, receivables and various capital assets. An extended work stoppage or decline in sales volumes would result in a decrease in the value of the assets securing the bank credit agreement. A reduction in availability under the bank credit agreement could have a material effect on our liquidity.

Changes in credit ratings issued by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations could adversely affect our cost of financing and have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.

Our debt currently has a non-investment grade rating, and there can be no assurance that any rating assigned by the rating agencies will remain for any given period of time or that a rating will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by a rating agency if, in that rating agency's judgment, future circumstances relating to the basis of the rating, such as adverse changes, so warrant. A lowering or withdrawal of the ratings assigned to our debt securities by rating agencies may increase our future borrowing costs and reduce our access to capital, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on our subsidiaries to generate cash flow to meet our debt service obligations.

We conduct a substantial portion of our business through our subsidiaries. Consequently, our cash flow and ability to service our debt obligations depend upon the earnings of our subsidiaries and the distribution of those earnings to us, or upon loans, advances or other payments made by these entities to us. The ability of these entities to pay dividends or make other payments or advances to us will be subject to applicable laws and contractual restrictions contained in the instruments governing their debt, including our revolving credit facility and the indenture governing the 2021 Senior Notes. These limitations are also subject to important exceptions and qualifications.

The ability of our subsidiaries to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to allow us to make scheduled payments on our debt will depend upon their future financial performance, which will be affected by a range of economic, competitive and business factors, many of which are outside of our control as well as their ability to repatriate cash to us. If our subsidiaries do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to help us satisfy our debt obligations, including payments on the 2021 Senior Notes, or if they are unable to distribute sufficient cash flow to us, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans, such as refinancing or restructuring our debt, selling assets, reducing or delaying capital expenditures or seeking to raise additional

Certain statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may constitute "forward-looking" statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA"), or in releases made by the SEC, all as may be amended from time to time. Statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the PSLRA. Any such forward-looking statements reflect our beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These cautionary statements are being made pursuant to the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the PSLRA with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the "safe harbor" provisions of such laws. We caution investors that any forward-looking statements we make are not guarantees or indicative of future performance. For additional information regarding factors that may cause our results of operations to differ materially from those presented herein, please see "Risk Factors" contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and as are detailed from time to time in other reports we file with the SEC.

You can identify forward-looking statements as those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "contemplate," "estimate," "believe," "plan," "project," "predict," "potential" or "continue," or the negative of these, or similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider the following factors, as well as others contained in our public filings from time to time, which may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement:

You are cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, when evaluating the information presented in this information statement. We undertake no duty to update these forward-looking statements after the date of this Form 10-K, even though our situation may change in the future.

None.

Our principal executive offices are located in Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. We operate 1011 manufacturing facilities in the United States that produce printing and writing, text, cover, durable saturated and coated substrates, premium packaging, filtration and other specialty papers for a variety of end uses. In 2016, we converted one of the two machines at the Appleton, Wisconsin, mill into a machine that produces transportation and other filtration media, and the mill will now be a shared facility with our fine paper and packaging business. We own and operate two manufacturing facilities in Germany that produce transportation and other filter media, and durable and saturated substrates. We own and operate one manufacturing facility in the Netherlands that produces digital transfer media and other technical products. We own and operate one manufacturing facility in the U.K. that produces durable printing and specialty paper.

We believe that each of these facilities is adequately maintained and is suitable for conducting our operations and business. We manage machine operating schedules at our manufacturing locations to fulfill customer orders in a timely manner and control inventory levels.

As of December 31, 2016,2017, following are the locations of our principal facilities and operating equipment and the products produced at each location:

See Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, "Debt", for a description of the material encumbrances attached to the properties described in the table above.

As of December 31, 2016,2017, following are the locations of our owned and leased office and laboratory space and the functions performed at each location.

Paper machines in our manufacturing facilities generally operate on a combination of three-shift five- or seven-day schedules to meet demand. We are not constrained by input factors and the maximum operating capacity of our manufacturing facilities is calculated based on operating days to account for variations in mix and different units of measure between assets. Due to required maintenance downtime and contract holidays, the maximum number of operating days is defined as 350 days per year. We generally expect to utilize approximately 80 to 90 percent of our maximum operating capacity. The following table presents our percentage utilization of maximum operating capacity by segment:

Litigation

We are 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 our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Income Taxes

We periodically undergo examination by the IRS as well as various state and foreign jurisdictions. The IRS and other taxing authorities routinely challenge certain deductions and credits we report on our income tax returns.

Not applicable.

Neenah common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol NP. Trading, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Composite Transactions Tape, and dividend information follows:

For the year ended December 31, 2017 we paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.37 per common share or $25.1 million annually. For the year ended December 31, 2016, we paid quarterly cash dividends of $1.32$0.33 per common share or $22.4 million. For the year ended December 31, 2015, we paid cash dividends of $1.20 per common share or $20.3 million.million annually. In November 2016,2017, our Board of Directors approved a 12an 11 percent increase in the annualquarterly dividend rate on our common stock to $1.48$0.41 per share. The dividend isshare, scheduled to be paid in four equal quarterly installments beginning in March 2017.2018.

Dividends are declared at the discretion of the Board of Directors, and future dividends will depend on our future earnings, cash flow, financial requirements and other factors. Our ability to pay cash dividends on our common stock is limited under the terms of both our bank credit agreement and our 2021 Senior Notes. Under the most restrictive terms of the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, we are permitted to pay cash dividends on or repurchase shares of our common stock up to the amount available under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, as long as the availability under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement exceeds $25 million. If the availability is below $25 million, we are restricted from paying dividends or repurchasing shares. As of December 31, 2016,2017, our availability exceeded $25 million, so this restriction did not apply. Under the most restrictive terms of the 2021 Senior Notes, we are permitted to pay cash dividends of up to $25 million in a calendar year, but not permitted to repurchase shares of our common stock. However, as long as the net leverage ratio (net debt/EBITDA) under the 2021 Senior Notes is below 2.5x, we can pay dividends or repurchase shares without limitation. In the event the net leverage ratio exceeds 2.5x, we may still pay dividends in excess of $25 million or repurchase shares by utilizing "restricted payment baskets" as defined in the indenture for the 2021 Senior Notes. As of December 31, 2016,2017, since our leverage ratio was less than 2.5x, none of these covenants were restrictive to our ability to pay dividends on or repurchase shares of our common stock.

As of February 22, 2017,2018, Neenah had approximately 1,4001,250 holders of record of its common stock. The closing price of Neenah's common stock on February 22, 20172018 was $75.90.$79.25.

Purchases of Equity Securities:

The following table sets forth certain information regarding purchases of our common stock during the fourth quarter of 2016.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

 

The following discussion and analysis presents the factors that had a material effect on our results of operations during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 2015 and 2014.2015. Also discussed is our financial position as of the end of those years. You should read this discussion in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes to those consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contains forward-looking statements. See "Forward-Looking Statements" for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements.

This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition is intended to provide investors with an understanding of the historical performance of our business, its financial condition and its prospects. We will discuss and provide our analysis of the following:

We are a leading producer of technical products and premium fine papers and packaging. We have two primary operations: our technical products business and our fine paper and packaging business.

Our mission is to create value by improving the image and performance of everything we touch. We expect to create value by growing in specialized niche markets that value performance or image and where we have competitive advantages. In managing our businesses, we believe that achieving and maintaining a leadership position in our markets, responding effectively to customer needs and competitive challenges, employing capital optimally, controlling costs and managing risks are important to long-term success. Changes in input costs and general economic conditions can also impact our results. In this discussion and analysis, we will refer to these factors.

Our reportable operating segments consist of Technical Products, Fine Paper and Packaging, and Other.