SCA Hygiene Products UK makes the stuff people reach for after muttering Geshundheit to each other. As one of Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA's primary units and a big contributor to its parent's growing hygiene business, SCA Hygiene Products UK operates in Western Europe and has developed a strong regional presence. Its leading brands include Tena, Bodyform, Velvet, and Tork. The company's products portfolio includes toilet paper, napkins, hand-wiping products, incontinence items, baby diapers, and feminine hygiene products. While SCA develops its own brand, it has gradually expanded its business by developing retailers' private-label brands.

Mulberry Group was founded in 1971 by former chairman and CEO Roger Saul and his mother. Saul was ousted in 2003 by Ong Beng Seng and Christina Ong, owners of Challice, which controls Mulberry Group with more than a 59% ownership stake. Mulberry Group makes and sells high-end accessories, which account for most of sales, as well as select women's and men's apparel. The company's products, which include fashion handbags, briefcases, scarves, sunglasses, and footwear, are sold through a handful of company-owned stores (many are located in the UK), select department stores, and a Web site.

Cohen & Wilks International (CWI) has matured right along with its clientele; as they have grown up from boys to men, so has the company shed its youth and come into its own. Founded in 1974, Cohen & Wilks International (formerly CWI Ltd) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of childrenswear and menswear to many major retailers in the UK. The company is able to produce apparel in virtually any quantity or physical size requested by its customers. The majority of CWI's manufacturing is done by third-party suppliers and trading partners located in Asia.

CEO and owner Renzo Rosso founded Diesel in 1978. Diesel jeans are considered high-octane by some in the fashion-forward set. Despite noxiously high prices, Diesel takes pride in producing unusual yet modish men's and women's casual wear. The company also makes sportswear and kids' clothes, and its name is licensed to makers of jewelry, watches, leather goods (handbags, wallets), eyewear, fragrances (Only the Brave, Fuel for Life), and footwear. Diesel's products are sold in more than 80 countries through department stores and specialty retailers, as well as at about 400 company-owned Diesel stores globally. The company also markets its goods through catalogs.

Michael Kors dresses the stars, both real and imagined. The company designs and distributes high-fashion apparel and footwear for men and women. It has expanded its products portfolio through the years by inking several licensing agreements, such as timepieces with Fossil, eyewear with Marchon Eyewear, swimwear with Warnaco Swimwear, and socks with American Essentials. The firm's collections include such brands as Michael Kors, KORS Michael Kors, and MICHAEL Michael Kors. Michael Kors, himself, owns about 15% of the company, while Sportswear Holdings, the holding company owned by fashion investors Silas Chou and Lawrence Stroll, bought some 85% of the company in 2003.

The firm, which resulted from the 2001 purchase of Ralston Purina by Swiss food giant Nestlé S.A., is the world's largest pet food producer. Besides Purina, its brands include Alpo, Beneful, Cat Chow, Deli Cat, Dog Chow, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Mighty Dog, Pro Plan, Puppy Chow, Vital Balance, and others. It also makes cat and dog litter products under the Tidy Cats, Yesterday's News, and secondnature brands. To gain regulatory approval for the Nestlé acquisition of Ralston Purina, Nestlé sold off its Meow Mix and Alley Cat brands to investment group J.W. Childs.

Essilor of America, Inc. company makes and distributes optical lenses under the Airwear, Crizal, DEFINITY, Transitions, and Varilux brand names, among others. Its Essilor Laboratories of America business, a wholesale laboratory network, provides services and a variety of lens brands to opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists across the US. Essilor of America is a subsidiary of Paris-based Essilor International, which operates about 250 prescription laboratories that manufacture corrective lenses worldwide. The company has been expanding its operations through acquisitions in recent years.

Alpha Industries not only caters to the corps, but to fashionistas the world over. The company is a leading manufacturer of flight jackets for the US Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine Corps. It caters to men, women, and children. Its products have been seen on the likes of Tom Cruise (in Top Gun), Nicole Kidman, and Victoria Beckham, as well. Alpha Industries, which has produced some 40 million pieces of military outerwear since its founding, sells its apparel products through military outlets, as well as through specialty US retailers. The company got its start in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1959. Since that time Alpha Industries has produced the M-65 Field Coat, creating more of them than any other company.

Established in 1996 in New York, Cosmopak now boasts operations in the US, Europe, and Asia. Cosmopak would beg to differ. The company is a contract manufacturer of cosmetics and their packaging. The company's design lab concentrates on developing new makeup application and packaging ideas, such as the massage bottle, semi-permanent pens, the brush pen, 3-in-1 pen, twist pencils, and mascara pencil. It specializes in staying ahead of the curve and innovating new ways to package cosmetics. Current and past clients include Stila Cosmetics, Avon, Blistex, Almay, IMX Cosmetics, and Ultima II.

kate spade's story is one of simplicity, like the bags it sells. Begun by designer Kate Spade and her husband, Andy, in 1993, signature kate spade bags were an instant success because of their uncomplicated design. Since then, the manufacturer has expanded into stationery, various functional bags (think diaper bags), and licensing -- with lines of homewares (sheets, tabletop items, and wallpaper), as well as beauty products, eyewear, and shoes. Women's items are sold under the kate spade name while men's products carry the jack spade moniker. The company, which is owned by Liz Claiborne, distributes its products in Asia and sells them in the US through about 50 of its own shops and in upscale department stores.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.