Silgan Containers

Crown Cork & Seal started when William Painter invented the bottle cap in 1892. It manufactures packaging products for consumer marketing companies throughout the world. The company makes metal packaging for food, beverage, personal care, household and industrial products. Its products also include dispensing systems, plastic and metal closures, aerosol cans and can making equipment. The company operates 185 plants in 43 countries with three divisions. The Americas division operates 68 plants from Canada to Argentina. The plants provide beverage and food packaging, aerosol cans, metal and plastic closures, and beauty packaging. The Asia Pacific division includes nearly 20 plants in emerging markets. The division s products include beverage and food packaging, aerosol cans, specialty packaging, vacuum closures, bottle caps and plastic closures. The European Division includes 100 plants in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Its products include food and beverage packaging, aerosol cans, specialty packaging, plastic containers, and health and beauty care.

Hutchinson Technology designs and manufactures suspension assemblies for hard disk drives. Suspension assemblies are precise metal springs that hold a disk drive s recording head at microscopic distances above the drive s disks. They are critical to the operation of the disk drive. The company manufactures the majority of the worldwide supply of suspension assemblies for all sizes of disk drives produced by all of the major disk drive makers. In the disk drive industry, Hutchinson helps to dramatically lower the cost of data storage and improve the overall performance, reliability and manufacturability of disk drives. by continually delivering market-leading innovations in suspension assemblies. In health care, it has built upon expertise in near-infrared analysis technology to develop a bio-measurement device that allows real-time, non-invasive technology for measuring the oxygenation of local tissue. The company is based in Hutchinson, Minn.

Crown Cork & Seal is a leading manufacturer of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. It is estimated that one out of every five beverage cans used in the world, and one of every three food cans used in North America and Europe, are manufactured by Crown Holdings. The company was started more than a century ago when its founder invented the bottle cap, a crown cork as it was called. Since the company s inception, its product lines have grown to include plastic closures, beauty-product containers, metal closures and specialty packaging items. Crown Holdings operates more than 180 plants in 43 countries, in three main divisions. One of its facilities is in Mankato, Minn.