Brenntag UK first took wing as Albion Chemicals Group in 2001, emerging from the nest of Hays Chemicals through a management-led buyout. The company is the United Kingdom's No. 2 chemicals distributor (behind Univar). In addition to its distribution businesses, Brenntag UK operates a chlor-alkali chemicals manufacturing plant. The company has a network of a dozen distribution depots and another six specialties sites across the UK and Ireland to supply businesses in the region. Following the MBO in 2001 it operated as Albion even after global distributor Brenntag acquired it in 2006. By 2009 the parent company decided to re-brand it as its own and changed the name to Brenntag UK.

Bri-Chem Corp. is Western Canada's leading wholesale distributor of drilling fluids and steel products to the energy industry. Bri-Chem Corp. sells over 150 different products in a wide variety of weights and clays, as well as various diameter steel pipe, tubing and casing particular to the oil and gas fields in Western Canada and parts of the United States. In addition, the Company also distributes these products to non-oilfield related industries such as mining, industrial and construction industries.

Brenntag North America can hook you up. One of the largest chemical distributors in North America, the company offers hundreds of industrial and specialty chemicals -- from acetic acid to zinc oxide -- and provides custom blending and packaging of chemicals in dry, liquid, or gaseous states. Customers include manufacturers in such industries as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paints, electronics, pulp and paper, cosmetics, food and beverages, textiles, and water treatment. European private equity group BC Partners owns Brenntag, and thus Brenntag North America.

Linde's business is lighter than air and bigger than everyone else's. Operating in more than 100 countries, it is the world's largest producer of industrial and medical gases. Linde also has an engineering unit that builds process plants for companies in the petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and gas manufacturing industries; the gases unit accounts for about three-quarters of its sales. A third division provides logistics and supply chain solutions to a broad range of commercial and industrial sectors, including electronics, grocery, retail and gas. The company is active worldwide but does about half of its business in Europe.

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.

With products ranging from citrus and baby soft to green apple, lemon lime, and raspberry, at least the company's factories shouldn't smell too bad. Bell Flavors & Fragrances manufactures flavors, botanical extracts, and aroma chemicals for the food, beverage, household products, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries. The company has manufacturing operations in Canada, China, Germany, Mexico, and the US. It's owned by the family of Edward Heinz, who bought Bell Flavors & Fragrances from its founder, William Bell, in 1967.

Brown Chemical mixes chemicals of various shades. The family-owned company specializes in distributing chemicals such as amines, food grade chemicals, latex additives, organics, phosphates, and sodiums for applications in textile, industrial, institutional, and specialty markets. Brown Chemical sells more than 1,500 products from 35 chemical manufacturers, and it offers contract packaging, custom blending, and product research services.

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.

Compass Minerals International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production and marketing of inorganic mineral products in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company operates in two segments, Salt and Specialty Fertilizer. The Salt segment produces salt and magnesium chloride for use in road deicing and dust control, food processing, water softeners, pool salt, and agricultural and industrial applications. This segment also purchases potassium chloride and sells as a finished product. The Specialty Fertilizer segment produces and markets potash crop nutrients and industrial grade sulfate of potash, which are used in the production of specialty fertilizers for vegetables, fruits, tea, potatoes, nuts, tobacco, and turf grass. The company operates a rock salt mine located in Goderich, Ontario; and the salt mine located in Winsford, the United Kingdom. It primarily serves producers of intermediate chemical products used in the production of vinyls and other chemicals, and pulp and paper, as well as water treatment and other industrial uses. The company markets its products through a direct sales force, and a network of brokers. It was formerly known as Salt Holdings Corporation and changed its name to Compass Minerals International, Inc. in November 2003. Compass Minerals International was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Makhteshim-Agan Industries (MAI) manufactures generic forms of crop protection chemicals. Its products include herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. Its first proprietray crop protection product was Rimon, which is not toxic for humans. Formed by Koor Industries' 1998 acquisition of two separate public companies, the agrochemicals company has operations worldwide. Through subsidiaries MAI is also involved in food and nutraceuticals, though the agrochemicals account for nearly all of its sales. The company has increased its focus on the North American market; the region now accounts for about a fifth of its total sales. Koor has been selling its shares in the company and has reduced its stake to about 40%.

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