Columbian Chemicals is black and proud. The company manufactures carbon black, a material used in the production of inks and coatings, rubber goods (especially automobile tires), and plastics. Columbian's carbon blacks come in two grades: industrial (sold under the brand names Raven, Conductex, and Copeblack) and rubber (Statex and Furnex). Columbian Chemicals operates almost 20 carbon black manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Carbon black can also be used as a key raw ingredient for fuel cells. The company was jointly owned by Korean chemicals giant OCI Chemical and private equity firm One Equity Partners, until the latter bought it outright at the beginning of 2009.

Cantol Limited is out to make a clean sweep. The company manufactures and distributes cleaning, maintenance, and specialty chemicals. Brand names include Aquapower (parts washing compound), Hi-Brite (metal finish cleaner), Ora-Clean (degreaser and deodorizer), and Rug Briter (carpet and upholstery cleaner). The company operates throughout Canada and throughout the Eastern Seaboard of the US. About half of its sales are in the US. The company has also been selling in China and in Mexico. President Elmer Snethen, through his company Snethen, Inc., has acquired nearly 91% of Cantol.

ADCO Global would prefer that you seal your windows, doors, and roofs with its line of adhesives and sealants rather than with kisses. Through its worldwide group of subsidiaries -- ADCO Products (US), K?rling (Germany), and Stag (UK) -- ADCO Global provides products for construction, automotive, and specialty industrial markets, serving huge corporations and individual customers. The company operates from eight global locations and sells its products in more than 65 countries. ADCO is controlled by investment firm Aurora Capital.

Tnemec (pronouced tah-KNEE-mick, it is cement spelled backwards) makes more than 100 different paints and coatings that can be used as primers on concrete, masonry, steel, and flooring materials. It also provides waterproofing, corrosion prevention (for wastewater facilities), and exterior finishing products. Subsidiary Chemprobe Coating Systems specializes in masonry products, while the company's StrataShield division focuses on floor and wall coatings. Tnemec has manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout the US, and it has sales representatives in Canada, Europe, and Latin America.

The Comex Group keeps adding colors to its palette. The company manufactures and distributes architectural paints and coatings through five regional operations/brands (Color Wheel, Frazee, General Paint, Parker Paint, and Kwal), and Duckback, a specialty coatings division. It sells its products mainly in the western US -- though it added Florida to its territory with the 2006 acquisition of Color Wheel -- and western Canada. Each brand formulates its products especially for the climate in its home region. The company comprises the US and Canadian operations of Mexico's largest paints maker, Comex.

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.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of lawn and garden care products in North America and the European Union. The company sells a line of granular lawn fertilizer and combination products, including fertilizer and crabgrass control, weed control, or pest control products; plant foods; and growing media products for indoor and outdoor uses, as well as grass seed products for the consumer and the professional users. It also offers weed control, indoor and outdoor pest control, and plant disease control products; wild bird food; and lawn spreaders. In addition, the company sells professional products, such as controlled-release fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, pesticide products, and wetting agents to commercial nurseries, greenhouses, and specialty crop growers in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East. Further, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company offers residential lawn care, lawn aeration, tree and shrub care, and external pest control services consisting primarily of fertilizer, weed control, pest control, and disease control applications. Additionally, it provides outdoor living and gardening lifestyle products, which include outdoor furniture, pottery, garden tools, gardening containers, and live goods through retail stores, catalog and Internet sales, and other trade and wholesale relationships. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company’s customers include home improvement centers, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, hardware chains, independent hardware stores, nurseries, garden centers, food and drug stores, commercial nurseries and greenhouses, and specialty crop growers. The company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Marysville, Ohio.

In the beginning it wanted to blow you away, now E.I. du Pont Canada Company is happy just to keep you clean, well fed, and safe from harm. The company, a subsidiary of chemicals behemoth E. I. du Pont de Nemours, has roots in the explosives industry but now makes more than 3,000 products -- from cleaning solvents to crop-protection chemicals to Kevlar (used in protective gloves, bullet-proof vests, and tires). Its products are sold worldwide and include brand names like Corian, Sorona, and Teflon. Subsidiary DuPont Liquid Packaging Systems (formerly called Liqui-Box) manufactures the packaging for boxed wine (among other, less-intoxicating products).

Osmose has its way. The company makes wood preservatives that repel water and termites, as well as inhibit the growth of mold. Among its consumer products are stains and water repellants; the company also makes preservatives for lumber and plywood. For railroads, Osmose produces preservatives for railroad ties and offers maintenance services. It also provides pole maintenance services and mobile communications software for utilities. Beginning in the mid-1990s the company began to focus on expanding internationally and now has operations in Canada, Latin America, Europe, and throughout the Asia/Pacific region.

Allegro Biodiesel Corporation does not have significant operations. It intends to merge or acquire with an operating entity. Previously, the company owned a biodiesel production facility that used renewable agricultural-based feedstock/soybean oil to produce biodiesel fuel in Louisiana. Allegro Biodiesel Corporation was formerly known as Diametrics Medical, Inc. and changed its name to Allegro Biodiesel Corporation in January 2005. The company was founded in 1990 and is based in Los Angeles, California.

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