It's clear what Deft makes: clear wood finishes and more. Founded in 1953, the company manufactures coatings for two markets: residential (interior wood stains and finishes) and industrial (aerospace and transportation coatings). Its home products include clear wood finishes, interior and exterior clear polyurethanes, and wood stains. Its aerospace products include polyurethane and epoxy primers and coatings. Deft's products can be bought from small paint-supply stores such as Conklin Paint and Do It Best, as well as large suppliers like Lowe's, Kmart, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart. The company is owned and run by members of the founding Desmond family.

U.S. Paint Corporation makes epoxies, finishing systems, solvents, and urethane products for use in the automotive industry. It manufactures Honda paint kits, featuring basecoats and topcoats of exact color matches for several models of Honda motorcycles. Previously a unit of Japanese firm Nippon Oil and Fats, U.S. Paint went through a management buyout in 2004. The company, which was founded in 1931, then sold its aerospace and marine product divisions.

From poisoning garden pests to exfoliating dry skin, Lonza puts itself in the middle of things. As the US operations of its parent company, Lonza accounts for about a third of the Lonza Group's $2.5 billion in annual sales. While Lonza doesn't actually make consumer products, the company provides chemical ingredients and intermediates for the personal care, water treatment, pharmaceutical, and plastics industries, from its nine manufacturing and R&D locations throughout the US.

NCH has been cleaning up for years, and like everyone else, it's been using soaps and detergents to do so. The company makes and sells about 450 chemical, maintenance, repair, and supply products, including all kinds of cleaners, for customers in more than 50 countries throughout the world. NCH markets its products through a direct sales force to companies in the agricultural, home-improvement, industrial, recreational, and utility markets. Other products include fasteners, welding supplies, plumbing parts, lubricants, and metal-working fluids. Descendants of founder Milton Levy own the company, which was established in 1919.

Left to its own devices, Tessenderlo Chemie tends to make a lot of chemicals for niche markets. The diversified producer operates through three units. It's Chemicals division offers a variety of inorganic chemicals including phosphates for animal feed and potassium sulphate; organic chlorine derivatives and caustic soda; and PVC. The company's Specialities unit supplies gelatin and organic intermediates for pharmaceuticals. Tessenderlo's Plastics Converting division takes PVC and converts it into finished goods such as plastic pipes and fittings. It operates in the US through Tessenderlo Kerley. The French chemicals group SNPE owns more than a quarter of the Belgian company.

W. R. Grace & Co. engages in the production and sale of specialty chemicals and specialty materials worldwide. Its Grace Davison segment offers fluid catalytic cracking catalysts to produce transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel fuels, and other petroleum-based products; FCC additives; hydroprocessing catalysts used in process reactors; and silica-based and silica-alumina-based engineered materials used in various industrial and consumer applications, and coatings and print media applications, as well as sealants and coatings used in rigid food and beverage packaging. It also offers polyolefin catalysts and catalyst supports for use in the manufacture of polyethylene and polypropylene resins, and other chemical catalysts used in industrial, environmental, and consumer applications, as well as silica-based materials, chromatography columns, instruments, consumables, and accessories for life sciences applications.This segment serves oil refiners, plastics and chemical manufacturers, users of product packaging, consumer product manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies. The company’s Grace Construction Products segment produces and sells specialty construction chemicals and materials, including concrete admixtures and fibers; additives used in cement processing; building materials used in commercial and residential construction and renovation to protect buildings from water, vapor, and air penetration; and fireproofing materials used to retard the spread of fire in buildings. The company was founded in 1854 and is based in Columbia, Maryland. On April 2, 2001, W. R. Grace & Co. filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The Messer Group operates in more than 30 countries in Europe as well as China and Peru. In addition to supplying gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and helium, Messer provides welding and cutting services and, through subsidiaries, makes medical instruments and welding products. The company's products are used by medical facilities and a variety of manufacturers. Sales to Europe, primarily Central and Eastern Europe, account for more than three-quarters of the company's business. It delivers gas through on-site facilities and pipelines, as well as by truck and in cylinders.

Clariant Corporation is clearly into the chemicals business. The company is divided into four segments: Textile, Leather, and Paper Chemicals; Functional Chemicals; Pigments and Additives; and Masterbatches (which are color and additive concentrates). As the North American subsidiary of Swiss specialty chemicals maker Clariant AG, Clariant Corp. oversees operations in Canada and the US and has about 25 manufacturing facilities and service centers throughout North America.

Austin Chemical does just fine, even without the bionic capabilities of Steve or the accessibility to great barbecue of the capital of Texas. The company supplies excipients, intermediates, APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients), and specialty chemicals to the pharmaceutical, nutritional, and agrochemical industries. It also provides development, packaging, marketing, and logistical services. The company supplies more than 8,000 products from some 115 manufacturers. In addition to its Chicago-area headquarters, Austin Chemical maintains operations in China and India.

FutureFuel Corp. engages in the manufacture and marketing of specialty chemicals and biofuels in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Chemicals and Biofuels. The Chemicals segment offers custom manufacturing chemicals, including a bleach activator for detergent manufacturers; proprietary herbicide for life sciences companies; and chlorinated polyolefin adhesion promoters and antioxidant precursors for chemical companies. This segment also provides performance chemicals, such as polymer (nylon) modifiers and several small-volume specialty chemicals, as well as agricultural intermediates and additives, imaging chemicals, fiber additives, and various specialty pharmaceutical intermediates. Its products are used in various markets and end uses, including detergent, agrochemical, automotive, photographic imaging, coatings, nutrition, and polymer additives. The Biofuels segment offers biodiesel and cellulose-derived biofuels. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Clayton, Missouri.

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