3M Nederland finds that Post-it Notes work well in any language. The Dutch arm of US-based conglomerate 3M sells the parent's vast portfolio of consumer, commercial, and industrial products, serving markets such as electro/communications, office, industrial/transportation, and safety. Brands include such household names as Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite household cleaning products, Scotchgard protective products, Nexcare bandages, and Filtrete filters and air purifiers. 3M Nederland operates three manufacturing plants: one in Amersfoort, 3M ECC, which produces heat shrink tubes; another in Breda, 3M Filtrete, which makes filter materials; and a plant in Kerkrade that produces fluorpolymers, elastomers, and resins.

Levenger began when Lori Granger Leveen and her husband, Steve, said: "Let there be lighting!" The company, which got its start in 1987 by selling halogen lights for reading, has fashioned itself into the provider of "Tools for Serious Readers." The direct marketer offers an assortment of branded and private-label home and office accessories and furniture. Its products include bookcases, briefcases, leather armchairs, lap desks, inkwells, pens, pillows, stationery, and of course, lighting products. Levenger (which derives its name from combining Leveen and Granger) sells its merchandise through its catalog, website, and retail stores in Boston; Chicago; Boca Raton, Florida; and the Washington, DC, area.

Timberlane, Inc. was founded in 1996. Customers shudder at the beauty of their shutters. Timberlane Woodcrafters manufactures custom-made exterior and interior wooden shutters. Its shutters are all crafted from western red cedar and come in authentic Cape Cod, Colonial, Federal, Greek, Mediterranean, and Victorian designs, to name a few. In an effort to ensure historical accuracy, the company employs blacksmiths to craft hand-forged, wrought iron hardware for use on their shutters. Timberlane sells directly to the individual consumers through catalogs and the company Web site, which also offers customers a shutter design tool and an online quote request form.

Blackwell UK (known as Blackwell's) operates about 50 bookshops throughout the UK under the Blackwell's and Heffers names, as well as Blackwell's Online Bookshop. Blackwell's Book Services (headquartered in the US, with offices in the UK) supplies books and bibliographic products to some 3,500 research, academic, and specialty libraries around the world. The original B.H. Blackwell's store was opened in Oxford on New Year's Day 1879, and today it is one of the company's flagship locations. The Blackwell family still owns and runs Blackwell's. The family also owns academic publisher Blackwell Publishing.

Sport Supply Group (SSG) knows how to play the game. Primarily through its catalogs, the company makes and markets about 20,000 sports-equipment products, including balls of all types, tennis court nets, soccer goals, weight-lifting equipment, and other sporting and recreational equipment and uniforms. It also sells through telemarketing programs and about 90 e-commerce sites. SSG peddles products mostly to institutional customers, such as youth sports programs, YMCAs, schools, and municipal recreation departments. The company has grown through acquisitions of sports equipment manufacturers and distributors over the years. The company was acquired by investment firm Onex in August 2010.

Holt's Cigar Company gets stoked about stogies. The company sells more than 170 brands of premium cigars, including its Ashton and Holt's brands, and related smoking accessories (cases, humidors, lighters, ashtrays). Almost half of its sales are from wholesale distribution through a direct sales force. It also sells cigars through a catalog, its Web site, a pair of stores in Philadelphia, and a club in Philly's Wachovia Complex arena. Dominican Republic-based Fuente Cigar supplies two-thirds of the company's smokes. HCH Acquisition, controlled by Holt's Cigar CEO Robert Levin and the Fuente family, took the company private in December 2000.

Chesswood Group owns cars4U.com (launched in 2000), which operates an online auto dealership (the first of its kind in Canada), where hassles like haggling for price are removed from the equation. The car dealer also provides leasing services through its Lease-Win subsidiary. Chesswood's other holdings include an Acura dealership in Toronto (Acura Sherway) and Pawnee Leasing Corp., a Colorado-based lending and finance company serving US clients. Founded as cars4U, the firm changed its name to Chesswood Group in 2011 upon its conversion from a trust to an corporation.

Supplies Network was founded in 1991 by CEO Tom Fleming. Supplies and networking is what Supplies Network is all about. Supplies Network is a leading wholesaler in the US, with some 5,000 media storage and computer, copier, fax, and printer supply products and accessories. The company peddles products from about 70 manufacturers, including Canon, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Xerox. All of Supplies Network's SKUs are stocked for same-day shipping. Supplies Network, which specializes in serving the independent dealer, helps its customers with marketing and sales materials and manufacturer connections.

Fletcher Jones Management Group holds the title as the US's top Mercedes seller. It rolls out Benzes from a 225,000-sq.-ft. superstore in Las Vegas; a 186,000-sq-ft. store in Newport Beach, California; a dealership in Chicago; and another in Honolulu. Fletcher Jones also operates another dealership in Chicago, five more in Hawaii, an another two in California, two more in Las Vegas, and one in Reno, Nevada, selling cars from Audi, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen. The company is owned by president and CEO Fletcher Jones Jr., whose father started it in 1954 with one Los Angeles dealership.

KaBloom was founded in 1997 by David Hartstein and former Staples CEO Thomas Sternberg. KaBloom.com can be found daisy chaining across the country and cyberspace. The floral chain owns or franchises about 30 retail shops that sell bouquets, cut flowers, and plants primarily in Massachusetts, and is test-marketing selling flowers through kiosks. It also offers national floral delivery through its toll-free number and Web site. Its business flower program arranges flower deliveries to office buildings with weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly schedules available. From about a dozen stores in the Boston area, KaBloom has spread its roots to about a dozen other states and the District of Columbia.

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