What companies are in the basic industries field? Basic industries are essential to the economy. In the United States alone, they employ more than 19 million people, or 10% of the total workforce.
They are also important internationally, employing more than eight million people, or 5.6% of the world’s population. In addition, more than 22,000 people were employed in the field in 2022.
You can also learn about building a career in the basic industry here.
What Companies are in the Basic Industries Field?
The list of companies in the basic industry includes:
- Engineering and chemical producers,
- Companies engaged in the research and development of new products, and
- Technologies.
The list includes a number of international companies. These include:
- Sealed Air Corporation,
- DuPont de Nemours,
- PPG Industries,
- Masco Corporation
- Chevron
- Berkshire Hathaway
- Amazon
Sealed Air Corporation
Sealed Air Corporation is a company in the US that is involved in the packaging industry. Its main website features information on their products and services.
The company serves customers in industries ranging from consumer products to industrial goods. This company has three core reportable business segments: Foodservice, Healthcare and Medical, and Logistics.
The company makes money by selling packaging and food hygiene products as well as by providing related services. Most of its revenue comes from sales contracts. In 2015, the company generated net sales of $7.03 billion, down slightly from the $7.75 billion in 2014.
The company generated a large portion of its revenue in the Food Care segment and the remaining revenue in the Diversey Care and Product Care segments.
DuPont de Nemours
DuPont de Nemours is a Fortune 200 company that provides technology-based materials for the basic industries. It operates in three segments: Electronics and Industrial, Water & Protection, and Building Materials.
The Electronics & Industrial segment produces materials for consumer electronics, while the Water & Protection segment provides materials for water purification and separation. Its building materials include plastics, rubber, and paint.
DuPont’s history dates back to the 1800s. It began as a family business manufacturing gunpowder and explosives, but as the company grew, it expanded its operations to include chemicals and synthetic fibres.
Today, DuPont makes plastics, textiles, paints, and films. The company has subsidiaries in 70 countries, including the United States.
PPG Industries
PPG Industries is a major supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. Its products improve the durability and marketability of goods. Its products are sold in two major segments: Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings.
The Performance Coatings segment produces protective coatings for buildings, automotive paints and sealants, and continuous-strand fibreglass. Its Industrial Coatings segment supplies metal pretreatment products, adhesives, and low-friction coatings.
PPG is focused on two main strategies to expand its business: defending its market share and developing new product lines. It also focuses on building long-term relationships with its customers. And it has one of the most extensive distribution systems in the industry.
Masco Corporation
Masco Corporation is a world-class manufacturer of brand-name products, and it serves the new home construction and home improvement industries.
The company was founded in 1929 and now employs around 18,000 people. Employee benefits include healthcare, competitive pay, and a bonus structure that’s fair and reasonable.
Masco is a publicly traded global manufacturer, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It was formed by merging the Standard Masco lamp and bulb company with the May Co.
The company has offices in Irving, Texas, and employs over 18,000 people in more than twenty North American manufacturing plants and 10 overseas facilities. Its employees are engaged in a wide range of different roles and work in a variety of industries.
Chevron
Chevron is an American company and the largest distributor of gas and oil in the world. It has thousands of employees and operates in fifty countries. It was founded in 1879 by Frederick Taylor, a California oil prospector.
The company subsequently developed a process to refine heavy Californian oil. This process would enable the company to compete with other companies who were competing for the same market.
At the time, the company was known as Chevron American Oil Company, but changed its name to Chevron Corporation in 1997.
Chevron has a long history. It was founded in 1879 as Pacific Coast Oil Company. This company grew to be a major producer of oil in California, and in 1900, it was purchased by the Standard Oil Company.
After the antitrust breakup of Standard Oil in 1911, Standard Oil’s California subsidiary, SoCal, was formed. In the same year, Gulf Oil acquired SoCal, and together they became the Chevron Corporation.
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company with subsidiaries in a variety of fields, including energy, insurance, retail, and rail roads. Some of the businesses it owns are also in the basic industries field, including food and beverage production, apparel, and paper and publishing.
It also has energy generation and utility businesses. Despite the diverse nature of Berkshire Hathaway’s business operations, there are some common factors that impact its performance.
Berkshire Hathaway has a track record of selecting investments that will produce a positive return. The company has been successful in this field for several decades, but it is always advisable to research an investment carefully.
It is also important to understand that even the best investor can lose money if he or she doesn’t understand a company’s business model.
Some of its companies include HomeServices of America, the country’s second largest residential real estate brokerage with 41,000 agents. Other companies in the basic industries field include CORT, which rents furniture and accessories to businesses and individuals.
Acme Brick, a distributor of concrete blocks and clay bricks, is another company owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
In the first quarter of this year, Berkshire increased its stake in Celanese, a materials provider for the paints and coatings industry. The company has nearly eight million shares in this stock.
It also increased its stake in McKesson, a pharmaceutical distribution company. However, it reduced its stake in Verizon during the quarter, selling 1.4 million shares.
Berkshire Hathaway has expanded its business into insurance in 1970. It also holds controlling interests in GEICO, a company that collects $18 billion in insurance premiums annually.
These insurance businesses have been successful for Berkshire Hathaway, and they provide the company with a reliable source of revenue.
Another company in the basic industries field that Buffett has invested in is Lubrizol. Its chemical and materials manufacturing business had a short-lived venture in oilfield services in 2014. In 2014, Lubrizol’s CEO David Sokol bought the company, but he later resigned.
Although some critics questioned Sokol’s actions, Buffett did not think Sokol did anything wrong. Another company, International Metalworking Companies, makes cutting tools and other basic products.
Amazon
Founded in 1994, Amazon has become synonymous with online shopping. In addition to its vast inventory of books, it has a large physical footprint with warehouses and employees in excess of 600,000.
Its cloud services are used widely by government and business agencies around the world. Amazon isn’t a dominant player in many industries, but it is the second largest publicly traded company in the U.S. behind Apple.
Despite its modest size, news about its potential impact on the economy can send stock prices into a frenzy.
The company has invested heavily in several companies in the basic industries field, from electric trucks to autonomous vehicles. Its latest acquisition, CANVAS Technology, is developing outdoor delivery robots.
It plans to acquire more than a thousand of these robots by 2024. This investment is part of Amazon’s efforts to reduce its reliance on physical drivers.
Amazon has also branched out into retail, with its Amazon Fresh grocery chain. Formerly called Amazon Go Grocery, it has 23 locations across the U.S. that could serve as distribution hubs for the company.
The company also uses cashierless technology in its stores, enabling it to collect more data about local shoppers. Additionally, it operates convenience stores called Amazon Go.
Pharma is another area where Amazon is making big moves. In addition to the retail store, the company is also building a network of pharmacies. With their technology and delivery capabilities, Amazon may soon be a major player in the pharmaceutical industry.
The company has already acquired PillPack, an online pharmacy service, and is building a nationwide pharmacy distribution network. In addition to its growing pharmacy business, Amazon is also using sales data to provide merchants with loans at lower interest rates than typical banks.
In the US, Amazon Community Lending is a lending program that offers loans for eligible small and medium businesses. It has an emphasis on minority-owned SMBs in underserved areas. The loans carry interest rates between eight and nine percent.
A similar program has been launched in Germany. Using the platform, Amazon sellers can apply for loans of up to eight hundred thousand dollars from ING Bank and repay the loan over three years. Furthermore, Amazon has partnered with ICICI Bank in India.
The loan process is digital, which makes it a convenient way for businesses to increase their inventory.