Depending on plastic for a living can be a bad thing if you're talking about credit cards. For Arkema UK, though, plastic brings it a nice living. The British operations of diversified chemicals maler Arkema, it manufactures all manner of raw materials for plastics (polypropylene, polystyrene, and so on), fertilizers (additives under the brand name Fluidiram), water treatment chemicals (bleach, bactericides, chlorinated chemicals), among others. In addition to marketing and distributing its parent's products, Arkema UK maintains its own manufacturing facility, which produces perlite; Arkema subsidiary Altuglas -- maker of acrylic glass products -- also operates in the UK.

No more inventory! Product on demand! Revolution! Sounds like the sales pitch that came from countless dot-coms circa 1999. But MicroBlend Technologies aims to change the way paint is manufactured and sold through just those heady fin de siecle promises. The Automated Paint Machine system manufactures paint at the point of sale, as it's been ordered (interior/exterior, flat/gloss, color, and amount), reducing the need for a huge retail space devoted to hundreds of gallons of already-made paint. MicroBlend has licensing agreements with several manufacturers to produce its equipment and component sauces. The company has also formed a co-branding partnership with DuPont's coatings unit.

To call Grupo Celanese synthetic is not to insult the company, a subsidiary of Celanese Corporation. In fact, Grupo Celanese is the largest synthetics maker in Mexico. The company operates two manufacturing plants that produce, primarily, acetate tow (used in cigarette filters), and various other acetyls. Additionally Celanese offers food ingredients for resale. Its operations make up just more than 5% of its parents business.

The dawn of Symrise announced the dusk of Dragoco and Haarmann & Reimer. The two German flavors and fragrance companies merged in 2002, and the resulting enterprise commands about 10% of the world market. Symrise is organized in two divisions: Flavors (used in beverages, snacks, ready-to-eat foods, and sweets) and Fragrances and Sensory Ingredients (for perfumes, beauty products, and home care products as well as multi-sensory aroma chemicals, and cosmetic raw materials). The company sells to manufacturers of fine fragrances, cosmetics, hair and body care products, detergents, food and beverages, and pharmaceuticals.

Arch Chemicals, Inc., a biocides company, provides chemistry-based and related solutions to destroy and control the growth of harmful microbes in the United States and internationally. Its Treatment Products segment manufactures and sells chlorine-based and non-chlorine-based products and equipment for the sanitization and treatment of residential and commercial pool and spa water, drinking water, and water used in industrial applications. It also offers personal care and industrial biocides that control dandruff on the scalp and the growth of micro-organisms, such as fungi and algae; and biocides for anti-bacterial applications. In addition, this segment produces wood treatment chemical solutions that protect wood against rot, fungal decay, or termites and other insects; and provides industrial or consumer-applied products for the surface decoration and protection of wood, including stains, polyester-based, and polyurethane-based coatings, and water-based coatings.The company’s Performance Products segment manufactures and sells urethane intermediate products, such as specialty polyols, which are used as ingredients for elastomers, adhesives, coatings, sealants, and rigid foam; glycols and glycol ethers for use as ingredients in cleaners, personal care products, and antifreeze; and flexible polyols. This segment also supplies hydrazine hydrates and hydrazine derivatives used as chemical blowing agents, water treatment chemicals, agricultural products, and pharmaceutical intermediates, as well as for use as fuel in satellites, expendable launch vehicles, and auxiliary and emergency power units. Arch Chemicals, Inc. serves pool and spa retailers, consumer product companies, big box retailers, furniture manufacturers, chemical and equipment distributors, wood treaters, sawmills, other chemical manufacturers, and the United States’ government. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Hawkeye Energy Holdings sure hopes you have. Operating through affiliates Hawkeye Renewables, Hawkeye Growth, and Hawkeye Gold, the ethanol maker runs two production facilities in Iowa from which it produces approximately 215 million gallons annually. Like most ethanol producers, Hawkeye Energy also markets distiller grains (a by-product of the manufacturing process) as animal feed. Private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) acquired 80% of the company, formerly called Iowa Falls Ethanol Plant, in 2006.

Beauty is indeed only skin deep when it comes to laminates, quoth Nevamar. The company specializes in making thin laminates that serve to protect and/or decorate all manner of objects. Nevamar's laminates, high pressure laminates, specialty surfaces, aluminum sheets, and thermofused melamine panels are typically used in such applications as counters, wall panels, office and household furniture, interior doors, table tops, elevator cabs, and vanities. Laminates can mimic more expensive materials such as stone or wood or can be designed with special properties such as chemical resistance, fire resistance, or static dissipation. Panolam Industries acquired Nevamar in 2006.

Don't expect nominal consistency from California Products; no matter its name, the company is based in New England. Through its California Paints division, the company makes paints and coatings for home and office uses, ceiling whites and enamels for hard wall interiors, and finishes and primers. Its Plexipave Sport Surfacing Systems and DecoSystems divisions make tennis, track, and other sport surfaces, and subsidiary Fiberlock Technologies manufactures environmental containment products. Employees are majority shareholders in the company, whose name dates back to its founding as a subsidiary of a West Coast stucco manufacturer. In 2007 private equity behemoth Apollo Management took a stake in the company.

Spartech Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an intermediary processor of engineered thermoplastics in North America and Europe. The company’s Custom Sheet and Rollstock segment manufactures plastic sheets, custom rollstocks, laminates, and cell cast acrylic for use in various applications, including packaging, transportation, building and construction, recreation and leisure, electronics and appliances, signs/advertising, and aerospace markets. Its Packaging Technologies segment manufactures plastic packages and rollstocks primarily used in the food and consumer product markets.The company’s Color and Specialty Compounds segment manufactures custom-designed plastic alloys, compounds, color concentrates, and calendered film for utilization by various manufacturing customers servicing the automotive, building and construction, food/medical packaging, lawn and garden, and electronics and appliances sectors. Spartech Corporation also manufactures various products, including thermoplastic tires and wheels for the medical, lawn and garden, refuse container, and toy markets; profile window frames and fencing for the building and construction market; and doors, hatches, cabinets, and windscreens for boat manufacturers. The company sells its products primarily to original equipment manufacturers through its sales force, as well as through independent sales representatives and wholesale distributors. Spartech was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Clayton, Missouri.

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.

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