Airgas, Inc.(NYSE: ARG), through its subsidiaries, is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and related hardgoods, such as welding supplies. Airgas is also a leading U.S. distributor of safety products, the largest U.S. producer of nitrous oxide and dry ice, the largest liquid carbon dioxide producer in the Southeast, and a leading distributor of process chemicals, refrigerants and ammonia products.

OMNOVA Solutions, Inc. provides emulsion polymers, specialty chemicals, and decorative and functional surfaces for various commercial, industrial, and residential end uses primarily in the United States, Asia, and Europe. It operates in two segments, Performance Chemicals and Decorative Products. The Performance Chemicals segment produces a range of emulsion polymers and specialty chemicals based on styrene butadiene, styrene butadiene acrylonitrile, styrene butadiene vinyl pyridine, polyvinyl acetate, acrylic, styrene acrylic, vinyl acrylic, glyoxal, and fluorochemical chemistries. Its custom-formulated products are tailored for coatings, binders, and adhesives, which are used in paper, carpet, nonwovens, construction, adhesives, tape, tire cord, floor polish, textiles, graphic arts, plastic parts, and various other specialty applications.The Decorative Products segment develops, designs, produces, and markets a line of decorative and functional surfacing products, including commercial wallcoverings, coated and performance fabrics, vinyl, paper and specialty laminates, and performance films. Its products are used in various applications, including commercial building refurbishment, remodeling, and new construction; residential cabinets, flooring, and furnishings; transportation markets comprising school busses, marine, and automotive; and recreational vehicles, manufactured housing, and various industrial film applications. The company sells its products through internal marketing, sales, and technical service teams to manufacturers; through independent distributors to building owners, contractors, architects, interior designers, and other specifiers; and through agents to manufacturers of cabinets, furniture, seating, and other products. OMNOVA Solutions was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Fairlawn, Ohio.

In 2005 UWGP completed the construction of and began operating an ethanol facility that manufactures 40 million gallons of ethanol a year. It has since expanded the plant to a capacity of more than 50 million gallons. It's not going against the grain to turn farm crops into motor fuels. Certainly not for United Wisconsin Grain Producers (UWGP), which like many other agribusinesses in the Midwest and Great Plains, is pushing grain-based ethanol as a viable and renewable fuel additive. Ethanol is an alcohol fuel produced by fermenting converted starch from corn with yeast. Most ethanol is blended with unleaded gasoline and other fuel products.

Talk about a sticky situation! Bostik, a part of the chemicals operations of French oil giant TOTAL S.A., makes adhesives for a variety of industrial markets. The company produces adhesives used by OEMs, including makers of windows and doors, textiles, and packaging. The company's Nonwovens division makes adhesives for disposable products like diapers, feminine hygiene products, and medical supplies as well as for tapes and labels. The Construction and Distribution division sells adhesives for applications such as installing flooring and insulating glass. Bostik serves the automotive and transportation industry by making adhesives for cars and trucks, RVs, mobile homes, and buses.

It's not in Minnesota and it doesn't do any mining either, but at least 3M United Kingdom does accomplish some manufacturing. 3M UK is the British and Irish arm of diversified chemical and consumer products firm 3M Company. Among 3M's product lines are Scotch-brand tape and Post-it Notes. 3M Health Care Ltd., whose business makes up a large component of 3M UK, makes medical equipment and supplies like respirators and drug delivery systems. The company also manufactures abrasives and adhesives. 3M UK is among its parent company's largest international iterations with about 15 locations, including 11 manufacturing facilities.

Hoping to cushion its parent companies' rides through a bumpy economy, Americas Styrenics combines the styrene operations of Dow Chemical and Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem). The 50-50 joint venture makes styrene monomer and a number of polystyrene resins. Its products go into the obvious (packaging and foam peanuts) and the unlikely (envelope windows and lighting applications). Americas Styrenics operates eight manufacturing facilities throughout the US and in Brazil and Colombia. It is the #1 producer of polystyrene and the #2 maker of styrene in the Western Hemisphere.

Inditherm makes a heat-conducting polymer used for temperature protection for pipelines and storage. It is also used in products such as clothing and medical supplies. Applications include patient warming and muscle heat therapy for the medical market; critical temperature management for mining, utilities, and manufacturing companies; and underpitch heating for sports stadiums (such as the training grounds for Premier League clubs Chelsea and Aston Villa). Inditherm's Speedheat product is used instead of heat packs for sports injuries. Storage products include heated jackets for drums, storage tanks, and intermediate bulk containers. The company was founded in 1998 by Pat O'Grady, who still owns a small stake.

Montefibre helps keep the world in polyester. The company is among the world's leading acrylic fiber manufacturers; its other big product is polyester. The company also produces polymer and staple fibers and filament yarns, and it has developed an antibacterial acrylic fiber. Applications for the company's fibers include products like imitation fur, automobile carpeting, outdoor awnings, and sport socks. Montefibre produces its fibers at plants in China (a joint venture with Jilin Qifeng), Italy, and Spain. Orlandi Group owns a majority stake in Montefibre. The company was established in 1918 as La Soie de Chatillon and changed its name to Montefibre in 1972.

Verenium Corporation engages in the development and production of specialty enzyme products, and production and commercialization of biofuels. It operates in two segments, Biofuels and Specialty Enzymes. The Biofuels segment focuses on the production and commercialization of biofuels, primarily ethanol from cellulosic biomass. The Specialty Enzymes segment develops enzymes for use in alternative fuels, specialty industrial processes, and animal nutrition and health markets. Its products include Fuelzyme—LF, an alpha amylase enzyme, designed to improve the efficiency and economics of ethanol production from corn and other grain, or starch sources; Purifine enzyme for biodiesel applications; Amylase-T Transgenic Corn Amylase; Purifine for edible nutritional oils; Luminase for pulp and paper processing; Phyzyme XP; Quantum phytase; Bayovac SRS that is designed to prevent disease in farmed Atlantic salmon; and Phytase-T, which supplements Quantum phytase.The company has strategic collaborations with Syngenta AG for the discovery and development of a range of novel enzymes; Bunge Oils, Inc. to discover and develop novel enzymes for the production of edible oil products; Cargill Health and Food Technologies to discover and develop novel enzymes for the production of a proprietary Cargill product; BASF AG to develop biocatalytic enzymes; Danisco Animal Nutrition to identify and develop a novel phytase enzyme; Bayer Animal Health to develop and market products to prevent infectious diseases in fish; and BP for the production of cellulosic ethanol from non-food feed stocks. It operates in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The company was formerly known as Diversa Corporation and changed its name to Verenium Corporation in June 2007 as a result of the merger with Celunol Corp. Verenium Corporation was founded in 1992 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

From modest beginnings in 1948 in Ashtabula, Ohio, MFG has grown to an international presence in the field of composites manufacturing. Today the company is a thriving enterprise that includes 16 entities throughout the United States and Mexico. MFG is involved in a gamut of exciting and growing industries, contributing to products that make life more affordable, safer, and healthier for human beings and the environment.True to the original vision of advancing both the art and science of composite plastic manufacturing, MFG has established itself as both an innovator of proprietary products and a respected partner to leading manufacturers around the world. The depth and breadth of the company as a specialist in FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) provides an unmatched asset to the world of manufacturing - a resource that customers large and small can turn to for composite materials expertise, dependable delivered goods and business integrity.

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