Borealis is another shining light in the northern sky of plastics. The company is among the leading European makers of polyethylene and polypropylene, the most common plastic resins (and together known as polyolefins). Borealis also produces olefins, ethylene and propylene, and compounds plastic resins to meet desired characteristics, mainly for wire and cable makers. Its Borstar technology is used to support its polyethylene and polypropylene products. The International Petroleum Investment Company of Abu Dhabi (IPIC) owns 65% of Borealis and Austrian oil firm OMV controls the remaining 35%.

Meghmani Organics is a leading producer of pesticide chemicals used by pesticide manufacturers and pigments used by manufacturers of printing ink, plastics, paint, textiles and leather, paper, and rubber. The company's customers are primarily multinational corporations and include Ciba Holding, Flint Ink, and FMC Agricultural Products. More than 50% of its pesticide products and over 80% of its pigment products are exported. The company was founded in 1986 and has offices in Belgium, China, and the US.

Fuel Tech, Inc. provides engineering solutions for the optimization of combustion systems in utility and industrial applications worldwide. It offers boiler optimization, and air pollution reduction and control solutions. The company operates in two segments, Air Pollution Control Technologies and FUEL CHEM Technologies. The Air Pollution Control Technologies segment includes the NOxOUT, NOxOUT CASCADE, GSG, NOxOUT ULTRA and NOxOUT-SCR processes, which reduce NOx emissions in flue gas from boilers, incinerators, furnaces, and other stationary combustion sources. The FUEL CHEM Technologies segment uses chemical processes to control slagging, fouling, corrosion, opacity, acid plume, as well as the formation of sulfur trioxide, ammonium bisulfate, particulate matter, carbon dioxide, and NOx in furnaces and boilers through the addition of specialty chemicals into the fuel or via TIFI Targeted In-Furnace Injection programs. It distributes its products through its direct sales force, licensees, and agents. The company was formerly known as Fuel Tech N.V. Fuel Tech, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Warrenville, Illinois.

If you've washed, shaved, and groomed, then you've probably shared a chemical experience with the folks at International Specialty Products (ISP). The company, also called ISP Chemco, makes about 400 types of specialty chemicals, including food and pharmaceutical ingredients, personal care, and fine chemicals, industrial chemicals (like butanediol for fibers and plastics), and minerals products. ISP also makes waterproofing agents, moisturizers, and preservatives for personal care products such as sunscreen and hair care products. Chairman Samuel Heyman owns ISP; after watching the company's stock dive in 2002, Heyman took ISP private.

JFC Technologies makes the chemicals that make up modern medicine. The company develops and manufactures a variety of pharmaceutical ingredients and applied materials, supplying customers with anywhere from milligrams to multiple tons of ingredients used in making their own products. JFC's chemicals are used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and nutritional supplements. The company began operations in 1970 as Jame Fine Chemicals. Besides its manufacturing plant and headquarters in New Jersey, JFC also opened a 50,000 square foot pharmaceutical plant in Ningbo, China.

With a cart full of products, Reckitt Benckiser (rhymes with "freezer") wants to clean up. Among the top household cleaning products makers worldwide, the company makes a variety of consumer products, including air fresheners (Air Wick), household cleaners (Lysol, Easy-Off), laundry products (Woolite), furniture polishes (Old English), and dishwashing detergents (Electrasol). It also makes over-the-counter pharmaceuticals (Gaviscon) and offers products for hair removal, denture cleaning, and pest control (d-Con). Reckitt Benckiser also butters its bread with French's mustard. The company peddles its products in some 200 countries and boasts about 17 "powerbrands."

BorsodChem manufactures and distributes petrochemical products and plastics raw materials. The company operates primarily in five product groups: chlor-alkalis (raw materials for plastics and other products made by the company), PVC (the company's largest unit, accounting for about 30% of its sales), compounds (for sheets and films), MDI (insulating foams for the construction industry), and TDI (or toluylene-diisocyanate, used by furniture makers). The majority of BorsodChem's sales stay in continental Europe. The company was founded as Borsodi Vegyi Kombinᴠin 1949. Affiliates of Permira and Vienna Capital Partners own 89% of the company.

Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, doesn't want its customers to be bugged. The subsidiary makes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides for agricultural applications, as well as for residential pest control. It also develops genetically modified (GM) seeds under the Mycogen and Phytogen names. Dow AgroSciences splits its operations into five product lines: plant gentics and biotechnology (in addition to seeds the unit has developed food products like the heart-healthy Natreon canola oil), weed management, disease management, pest management, and urban pest management. It has operations in more than 50 countries around the world.

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.

The Messer Group operates in more than 30 countries in Europe as well as China and Peru. In addition to supplying gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and helium, Messer provides welding and cutting services and, through subsidiaries, makes medical instruments and welding products. The company's products are used by medical facilities and a variety of manufacturers. Sales to Europe, primarily Central and Eastern Europe, account for more than three-quarters of the company's business. It delivers gas through on-site facilities and pipelines, as well as by truck and in cylinders.

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