The company (SII for short) manufactures a number of specialty and basic chemicals, beginning with aluminum-based products (for the paper and water treatment industries) to zirconium (for makers of titanium dioxide -- the most widely used white pigment). Its core markets include manufacturers of cement, molecular sieves, pharmaceuticals, refinery and automotive catalysts, and zeolites. SII has about 10 manufacturing plants spread throughout the southeast US and Texas. President and CEO Milton Sundbeck owns Southern Ionics.

Soy -- not just a food substitute anymore. Evidently, it can be a chemical substitute as well. Franmar Chemical manufactures 100% biodegradable and recyclable soybean- and corn-based products for the restoration and remodeling, asbestos removal, screen-printing, industrial cleaning, boating, and consumer markets. Some brand names include Bean-e-doo adhesive remover, Kernel Clean surface and window cleaner, Ickee Stickee Unstuck Graffiti Remover, and Soy Smooth hand lotion. Customers of the environmentally responsible products include government agencies and foreign restoration companies. President Frank Sliney founded the company in 1983.

Interchem is a leading international supplier of fine chemicals, advanced pharmaceutical intermediates (APIs), and antibiotics. The company's suppliers include pharmaceutical developers and other manufacturers like Lonza, Schwarz Pharma, Unichem and Uquifa. It also offers new product research and development, innovative packaging, and multimedia and marketing services. Interchem was founded in 1981.

General Chemical Industrial Products makes soda, but don't be tempted to take a drink. The company produces soda ash, which is a raw ingredient in the manufacture of everything from glass to soap and detergent to textiles. General Chemical's lone production facility and mine are located in Wyoming; the company owns 75% of the facility, with glass container manufacturer Owens-Illinois owning the rest. In 2008 General Chemical acquired the mica production assets of Zemex. Soon after that deal, Tata Chemicals bought the company for about $1 billion, at which point Zemex was spun off to General Chemical's shareholders.

Because you're not likely to be creating ion exchange resins out of your garage, LANXESS Sybron Chemicals does the job for you. LANXESS bought Sybron in 2000 and added its own ion exchange resins business to form one company that can serve both the industrial and domestic water treatment sectors. In addition to being used for domestic water softening and in waste water treatment, Sybron's products are used in catalysis and in processing specialty chemicals (removing heavy and precious metals like brine and mercury). They can also be used in sweetener and food processing to remove unwanted properties (minerals, odors, acids, etc.).

Treatt, founded in 1886, operates as R C Treatt in the UK and Treatt USA in the US. Treatt tricks your nose and taste buds into liking a thing. Although the company points out that it is not a flavor and fragance company, Treatt does make raw materials used in the flavor and fragrance and food and beverages industries. It blends and distills essential oils. Products include flavor-enhancing citrus oils and Treattarome, a line of flavors named after the food from which they are distilled. The company's ingredients are used in air fresheners, cosmetics, soaps, soft drinks, confectionery, and pharmaceuticals. The Bovill family, including managing director Hugo Bovill, control 29% of the company.

INEOS NOVA International is still pretty impressive. The joint venture, owned by diversified chemicals giant Ineos and Canadian plastics company NOVA Chemicals, ranks among the world's larger styrenics manufacturers. Its primary products are polystyrene (used as packaging material and in household appliances and equipment housings), expandable polystyrene (used as building insulation and in packaging containers), and styrene monomer (used as a raw material for the production of other styrenics). INEOS NOVA also manufactures a range of performance products that are used to make a variety of plastics for packaging, medical devices, housewares, and office products.

Converted Organics Inc. engages in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of liquid and solid fertilizers, and natural soil amendment/enhancement products combining disease suppression and nutrition characteristics. It uses liquid and solid food waste as raw material to manufacture soil amendment products. The company sells and distributes its products in agribusiness, turf management, and retail markets. Converted Organics Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Comex Group keeps adding colors to its palette. The company manufactures and distributes architectural paints and coatings through five regional operations/brands (Color Wheel, Frazee, General Paint, Parker Paint, and Kwal), and Duckback, a specialty coatings division. It sells its products mainly in the western US -- though it added Florida to its territory with the 2006 acquisition of Color Wheel -- and western Canada. Each brand formulates its products especially for the climate in its home region. The company comprises the US and Canadian operations of Mexico's largest paints maker, Comex.

A shot of Vitamin K helps farmers grow bigger and better crops. Uralkali is one of the world's top producers of potash, a form of potassium carbonate commonly used as a fertilizer. The company produces 5 million tons of potash per year, or 10% of the world's supply. (Canada's PotashCorp leads the way with 10 million tons, or 20%.) Uralkali operates two mines in Russia and five production plants. The company makes about two-thirds of its total sales to just Brazil and China. Uralkali was founded in 1930 by the Russian government and privatized in 1992. In 2007 it became the country's first public chemical company.

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