Ink-stained wretches everywhere have INX International Ink to thank (or blame) for their plight. The company, a subsidiary of Japanese ink maker Sakata, manufactures printing ink and other coatings. INX makes inks for metal decorating; for flexible, rigid, and paper packaging; and for commercial printing. It maintains about 30 manufacturing facilities in North America and another 20 worldwide.

Samsung Total Petrochemicals sticks to the basics. The company manufactures building block chemicals that go into the making of a host of other chemicals needed to make the stuff we can use. It starts with a naphtha cracker, yielding propylene and ethylene, which are the raw materials in the production of all manner of polymers. Samsung Total divides its operations in three: polymer production (polyethylene, polypropylene, high- and low-density polyethylene), base chemicals (selling the ethylene and propylene the company doesn't use itself, as well as aromatics used to make the materials that go into synthetic fibers), and petrochemicals like solvents and liquefied petroleum gases (propane, butane, etc.).

Cambridge Isotope Laboratories (CIL) helps scientists avoid having to say "oops!" by providing a stable research base. The company produces stable (non-radioactive) isotopes -- and chemical compounds labeled with stable isotopes -- for research and laboratory purposes. Its annual production capacity is 120 kilograms of Carbon-13 and 250 kilograms of Oxygen-18. CIL offers more than 8,000 products including amino acids, carbohydrates, gases, buffers, and dioxins, as well as specialty products such as forensic testing standards that monitor the effectiveness of a given drug and a new type of non-invasive "breath test" substrate used to gain information on metabolism.

Treibacher Industries' chemical and metallurgy business is elemental. Its Steel and Foundry Products unit manufactures noble alloys like vanadium and molybdenum, while the Recycling division takes care of industrial metals that result as waste product from the first unit (recycling vanadium, nickel, and molybdenum). Treibacher's High Performance Materials division produces carbide powders used to manufacture tools and electrical parts, and the company's Rare Earths and Chemicals unit's products are used to manufacture batteries, electronics, ceramics, and catalysts. Treibacher has a subsidiary in Slovenia and a sales unit in Canada.

FUCHS PETROLUB keeps things running smoothly. The company is one of the world's leading independent manufacturers of automotive and industrial lubricants. Its products include engine and gear oils, metalworking fluids, metal forming lubricants, corrosion preventatives, quenching oils, biodegradable lubricants, and greases. The company also provides polishing pastes and tools as well as anti-freeze, mining products, and vaselines. FUCHS PETROLUB operates through about 40 production facilities and about 60 subsidiaries worldwide.

During the past century, Nalco Company has grown from a fledgling water treatment business to the leading integrated water treatment and process improvement company in the world. We do this by focusing on our core markets of water treatment and process chemicals and on our corporate strengths - global presence, on-site expertise, and innovative products and services.Nalco's more than 11,000 employees work with more than 70,000 customers in 130 countries in industry, government and institutions to reduce water and energy consumption by solving and preventing problems, protecting the environment, decreasing costs, increasing productivity, improving profitability by reducing customer total costs of operation, and maintaining asset reliability.Our goal is to help ensure optimum and trouble-free operations in the customer's plant, mill, mine or municipality through the prevention of water and process-related problems and proactive process improvements. The Nalco representative is key to achieving these goals - as consultant, problem-solver, on-site expert and business partner.

What makes a baby's bottom so smooth, anyway? Well, Evonik Stockhausen's absorbent polymers are used in diapers to take the wetness away from the skin, so maybe that's it. The company also manufactures chemicals for skin care treatments (synthetic detergents and heavy-duty cleaners). Stockhausen's US manufacturing facilities are located in North Carolina and Louisiana. Among the brand names those products are sold under are Favor (superabsorbers used in diapers and other products), Stoko (for skin care and cleaning products), and Creasorb (fluid management products). It's the American branch of Evonik Degussa subsidiary Evonik Stockhausen GmbH.

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.

Total Petrochemicals is just a small portion of a very large TOTAL. The Total Petrochemicals company is the business unit in charge of the French energy giant's worldwide production of base petrochemicals (olefins and aromatics), polyethylene, polypropylene, and styrenics (styrene, polystyrene, and elastomers). Olefins are the basic building blocks of the chemical world, such as ethylene and propylene, and are manufactured primarily from natural gas and naphtha; they are the raw materials used in just about everything else the company makes. The Total Petrochemicals is invested heavily in Asia through 50-50 joint venture Samsung Total Petrochemicals, which offers Total a prominent gateway into Asia and in particular the Chinese market.

Zinkan Enterprises helps to make sure what's ore is mined, and also to mine what is ore. A manufacturer of specialty chemicals for the mining industry, Zinkan's line of organics (marketed mostly under its O'Brien Products brand) helps to lower moisture in mined ores. The company also makes aggregate and water treatment chemicals and acts as a distributor for specialty chemical company SNF Floerger. Zinkan has about 10 manufacturing and distribution locations in the US, mostly in the Midwest.

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.