Ascend Performance Materials appoints Patrick Schumacher as Chief Executive Officer. Ascend Performance Materials, a leading producer of high-performance and durable engineered materials for everyday essentials and new technologies, today announced that it has appointed Patrick Schumacher as Chief Executive Officer, effective today. Patrick succeeds Phil McDivitt, who will remain with Ascend as a special advisor to the Board and CEO to ensure a smooth transition as the company completes its financial restructuring and emerges from the Chapter 11 process. McDivitt joined Ascend in 2015, served as president and CEO since 2017, and oversaw the expansion of the company's global manufacturing footprint. "Over the past several years, we have built a strong foundation and made tremendous progress scaling our engineered plastics business and improving our safety record, culture, and customer relationships," said McDivitt. "As we work toward a successful financial restructuring, I am confident that now is the right time to transition leadership of Ascend. Patrick has a strong record of driving operational improvements, increasing profitability, and leading teams through transformation. His leadership will be instrumental as the company continues to execute on its growth strategy, build industry trust, and deliver long-term value." "I am thrilled to lead what will become Ascend's resurgence," said Patrick Schumacher. "The people of Ascend have exhibited incredible resilience and determination and I'm honored to work alongside them to bring the company back to strong financial performance. Together, we will drive Ascend forward with a continued focus on operating safely and providing customers with the high-performance materials that help them lead their respective industries. I am grateful for Phil's many contributions to Ascend and his support throughout this transition." About Patrick Schumacher With more than 25 years of experience leading global businesses across the chemicals and industrial sectors, Schumacher has built a reputation for strategic transformation, streamlining complex organizations, and delivering higher profitability. Before joining Ascend, he was corporate vice president at Olin Corporation, where he led the Chlor Alkali Products & Vinyls division and the global integrated supply chain, achieving record financial results. Prior to Olin, he held senior executive roles at Celanese Corporation, including Senior Vice President of Engineered Materials (CEM) and Acetate Tow, Vice President Emulsion Polymers, and Vice President Strategy and M&A. Earlier in his career, he led the chemicals M&A practice at The Blackstone Group and held senior investment banking roles at UBS and Lehman Brothers. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance and international business from the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree in finance from Boston College's Carroll School of Management.

Aspyr Living announced lead investment from RJD Green as part of a $3.0M seed funding round for launch of Ascend. Aspyr Living, a natural lifestyle company, announced a $250,000 lead investment from RJD Green (OTCPK: RJDG) as part of a $3.0 million seed funding round. RJD Green will provide both capital and growth expertise to support the launch of Aspyr Living's innovative new consumer brand, Ascend(R). Aspyr Living helps people live healthier lives with a new generation of safe, high performance home, laundry and personal care products that outperform toxic chemical-based national brands. Its flagship brand, Ascend(R), features proprietary, patent-pending botanical technologies preferred by consumers over toxic national brands after a single use. The funding will be instrumental in bringing these products to market and solidifying Aspyr Living as an emerging leader in the home, health, and wellness space. "We've cracked the code to delivering superior performance for naturally derived household cleaning and laundry products using botanicals, instead of petrochemicals. The results are household cleaning & laundry products that are safer, stronger, and preferred by consumers," said Benjamin Shell, CEO of Aspyr Living. "We're thrilled to have RJD Green as our lead investor for this funding round," said Shell. "Their track record of building companies is precisely the kind of expertise we need as we scale operations and introduce our industry-first products to North America." RJD Green's investment builds on a successful 3,000-store Walmart private label test, which demonstrated significant consumer demand for products based on Aspyr Living-derived technologies. The pilot generated over $5 million in sales from 2 million units, with over 98% of consumers preferring the products over top chemical brands. The test also showed a strong 70%+ repurchase rate, proving mass market appeal and a loyal customer base. Aspyr Living is expected to hit retail shelves with its Ascend(R) Home Essentials line in early 2026, followed by the launch of its groundbreaking Ascend(R) Sanitizing Laundry Detergent in Summer 2026. It's the first consumer detergent to kill 99.9% of bacteria in a home washing machine and represents the most significant advance in home laundry care in 70 years. Aspyr Living is a natural lifestyle company transforming the $32 billion home and laundry care products market. The company's vision is to help families live healthier lives by providing safe, effective, and science-backed products and removing toxic chemicals from U.S. homes. RJD Green, Inc. (OTCPK: RJDG) is a publicly traded holding company focused on acquiring and managing assets and companies in the construction, green environmental, and healthcare service sectors. RJD Green is dedicated to providing shareholders with access to small and medium businesses with significant growth opportunities.

All other facilities continue to operate as usual; shipments and product delivery to continue in normal courseRemains on track to emerge from Chapter 11 this fallHOUSTON, June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascend Performance Materials, a leading producer of high-performance and durable engineered materials for everyday essentials and new technologies, announced today its decision to initiate a wind down of operations at its hexamethylene diamine production facility in Lianyungang, China. This decision follows a comprehensive evaluation of the facility's long-term viability amid evolving market dynamics and regulatory landscapes."Ascend has made significant strides improving the business as we continue to focus on driving operational effectiveness," said Phil McDivitt, President and CEO of Ascend Performance Materials. "In April, with the support of our lenders, we initiated a financial restructuring process to reduce our debt and position Ascend for the future. As we evaluated the market conditions and ongoing trade disputes, we determined that the LYG production facility is no longer the best way to support our customers in the region. Accordingly, we have made the decision to wind down the facility."He continued, "Decisions that impact our people are never easy. The people in our LYG plant showed excellence and dedication in everything they did, and we thank them for their contributions to Ascend, and this decision is not a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the team in LYG