Products

How much more of the ozone layer can we afford to lose? According to some estimates, about 5 percent of it is already gone. Yet a lot of us continue to use ozone-depleting chemicals in everyday products. And stores keep selling them.What can we do? One important step could be to become an "ozone activist" -- that is, educate retailers about the chemicals that cause ozone depletion, and help them make the decision to get ozone-depleting products off their shelves.The ozone destroyers *Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Pressing into new territory, toolmaker Black & Decker Corp. said yesterday that it has bought a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., designer and marketer of jump-starters and similar consumer products for $160 million. Towson-based Black & Decker said the privately owned Vector Products Inc. complements its line of power tools, kitchen appliances and other household items. Vector's products - which include vehicle battery chargers, power inverters and rechargeable spotlights - represent Black & Decker's first significant foray into the consumer automotive and marine markets.

ROCKVILLE -- In the realm of biotechnology companies, Univax Biologics Inc. seems like a sprinter among a pack of joggers.Just two years ago, the company seemed unremarkable. It was one of the dozens of tiny biotech companies in Maryland squeaking by with fewer than 20 employees and visions of turning a scientific discovery into a product.Today, Univax has a cutting-edge science that is taking off. In two years, it has grown to a staff of 110, has five products in clinical trials, raised $44 million in its first public offering and opened a pilot manufacturing plant this summer.

Every 18 seconds, another baby boomer turns 50. Even though their AARP cards are in the mail, don't you dare call them "old."Half of them are facing some form of arthritis. They say it's no problem -- don't you dare call it a handicap.Boomers are not the first to put a happy face on aging. It seems to be the American way.At least 80 percent of their parents have at least one chronic condition, yet a third of them assess their health as good or excellent, according to the Statistical Handbook on Aging Americans.

Most grocery shoppers don't give a second thought to where Frosted Flakes cereal or Green Giant peas sit on their supermarket's shelves. But for grocery managers, deciding which products to sell and how to arrange them is a highly specialized science that can boost profits or hurt sales. In a recently published study, researchers specializing in company operations say they've found a better way to manage categories of food products. Professors at three universities say grocery stores that use the professors' new models - based on information from consumers and grocery managers - can boost profit by as much as 25 percent.

Baltimore County's newest farmers' market will bring about 20 area farmers to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. today and every Wednesday through the summer. Shoppers will find beef, bison, breads, ice cream, fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables at the newest of 13 markets throughout the county. "This is an attractive new location, especially for people who don't make it down to Towson," said Chris McCollum, agriculture liaison for the county's Department of Economic Development.

Nutramax Laboratories Inc., which makes dietary supplements for people and animals, and USBiomaterials, a biotechnology company that makes implantable medical products, have formed an alliance to get a slice of the emerging field of veterinary dentistry.The agreement between the two White Marsh companies gives Nutramax exclusive rights to market in the United States and Canada two USBiomaterials products approved for use in humans by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA approvals allow the products to be used in veterinary medicine.

The Food and Drug Administration has rescinded Kirschner Medical Corp.'s right to export some of its orthopedic products, a move that could jeopardize the Timonium-based company's pending sale to Henley International Inc.After inspecting Kirschner's plant in Fair Lawn, N.J., the FDA rescinded a certificate needed to export products made at the plant. The certificate assures foreign countries that there is no problem with manufacturing procedures, according to FDA spokeswoman Sharon Snider.

Grace Davison, a Baltimore-based division of W. R. Grace & Co., said yesterday that a federal judge has ordered two companies to stop making sulfur oxide reduction additives that infringe on a Grace patent.U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Longobardi of Delaware issued a permanent injunction against Intercat Inc. and Conoco Inc., prohibiting the companies from manufacturing, using or selling Intercat's NoSOx and NoSOx-PC sulfur oxide reduction products.Grace, which supplies additives to the oil refining, plastics and chemical industries, won its first legal victory for its DESOX sulfur reduction product in September.

Acme Paper & Supply Co. has a name more befitting its past than its present. When the company started in 1946, it specialized in paper products such as drinking cups. Today, Acme is a much different company — so much so that the tagline "more than paper" has been appended to its name. Plastics are now the predominant part of the business. The company also has helped the U.S. House of Representatives switch to more environmentally friendly products. If you've ever used hand sanitizer at a hospital or restaurant, it was likely supplied by Acme.