GLS Corporation is a soft touch. The company makes and distributes thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compounds and alloys to customers globally. Soft, flexible TPEs are used in products such as tools, pens, food packaging, personal care items (toothbrushes and razors), and sporting goods (bicycle seats and handle grips). They are also found in medical devices and industrial products. Along with its own DYNAFLEX TPE compounds, GLS also distributes KRATON rubber compounds. GLS has a composites distribution joint venture, called Composites One, with TOTAL's Cook Composites and Polymers unit. The Dehmlow family owned and operated GLS until it sold out to PolyOne in early 2008. It now acts as the TPE unit of PolyOne.

General Magnaplate is one slick, out-of-this-world company. Magnaplate makes coatings that increase the performance of metals. Every NASA vehicle sent into space has had parts coated by Magnaplate. The company's products include HI-T-LUBE (a Guinness record holder as the most slippery solid in the world), TUFRAM coating (used to machine aluminum), and many different basic metal coatings used by the food processing, packaging, electronics, aerospace, and other industries. These coatings significantly increase the durability and lubricity of ferrous and nonferrous metals. The company is controlled by the family of founder and chairman Charles Covino, including his daughter, CEO Candida Aversenti.

The Dead Sea has given life to Israel Chemicals Limited (ICL). That body of water is rich in bromine, potash, salt, and magnesium -- minerals that ICL turns into specialty and agrochemicals, among other products. Bromine commonly is used in flame retardants, and potash is a common fertilizer. The company accounts for a third of the world's bromine production and 10% of the world's potash. It is also a major producer of magnesium. Although most of the company's chemicals are produced in Israel (from the Dead Sea), it also mines for fertilizers in Spain and the UK. Investment firm Israel Corporation, controlled by The Ofer Group, owns 53% of ICL.

The Jebsen & Jessen Group of Companies South East Asia, a member of the Jebsen & Jessen Family Enterprise, dates its origins to a trading partnership formed in Hong Kong in 1895. The Group, incorporated in the early 1960s, is today a highly diversified entity engaged in eight core businesses: Cable Technology, Chemicals, Communications, Life Sciences, Marketing, Material Handling, Packaging and Technology. With a focus on South East Asia, the Group has established a firm foothold in the region through more than 50 subsidiaries and associate companies in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, employing approximately 3,000 people

McCombs Enterprises auto group sells new cars from Ford, GMC, Hyundai, Scion, and Toyota at about a dozen dealerships in and around San Antonio, Texas. McCombs Enterprises also rolls out a long roster of used car brands. Octogenarian-owner Red McCombs' other business interests include radio giant Clear Channel Communications, which he co-founded, Austin's Emergent Technologies, and real estate. He is a former owner of the Minnesota Vikings and the San Antonio Spurs. In 2000 Red McCombs pledged $50 million to the Red McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. McCombs founded his namesake company in 1958.

Biopetrol Industries wants to say auf weidersehen to fossil fuels. The company manufactures biodiesel from rapeseed oil, soybeans, and methanol from three plants in Europe. Biopetrol distributes its products to oil companies, fleet operators, public transportation agencies, and construction and agricultural companies across Europe. It also manufactures bioglycerine. (Crude glycerol is a natural byproduct of making biodiesel; Biopetrol refines it for use in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.) Swiss commodities giant Glencore International acquired a majority stake in Biopetrol, along with the right to boost its share to a two-thirds majority, at the start of 2010.

Deuchem manufactures products that become the primary ingredients for paints and coatings, printing inks, natural and synthetic leather finishes, and composites. The company's production is split into two divisions: additives and resins. Its line of additives includes anti-settling agents, thickeners, defoamers, and adhesion promoters. Its resins production includes acrylic and polyester polyol which enhance adhesion, drying, and gloss in various applications. Established in 1978, Deuchem has sales offices in Taiwan which oversee all domestic and international sales. Its Southern China business unit monitors sales offices in that region as well.

Lansdowne Chemicals supplies specialty chemicals for use in industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to printing. Its chemicals are used in vitamins, consumer products such as cosmetics and fragrances, food, and water treatment. The company's product list includes acetophenones, amino acids, anabolic steroids, benzaldehydes, iodides, and polyester resins. Lansdowne Chemicals imports chemicals from around the globe, primarily from Europe and Asia. The company was formed in 1976 to provide a Far East source of specialty and aroma chemicals to the UK. Today it operates offices in China, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

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.

Rit-Chem. The family-run business is a go-between company that imports, exports, markets, and contracts for custom, high-quality, and hard-to-find chemicals. Its imports are primarily chemicals that are no longer made in the US, chemical preparations custom-produced for Rit-Chem, or chemicals of a higher quality than are typically made domestically. The company was founded by president Henry Rittel, who remains at the helm of business.

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.