Haviland USA

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — With auto sales at crisis levels, Washington is trying to figure out how to get Americans buying cars again.

Several ideas are on the table, but two of them are really making the industry pay attention.

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Although chemical companies that supply the cleaning product industry are devoting much of their creative energy to developing new products for environmentally conscious consumers, they do have another issue to contend with: The global economy is in a freefall, and there are no signs of recovery.

Lucky for such suppliers, they serve a relatively recession-proof market.

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The Department of Environmental Quality today welcomed Haviland Enterprises, Inc. of Grand Rapids as the 155th member of the Clean Corporate Citizen (C3) Program. The C3 Program is a voluntary environmental program that recognizes environmental stewardship at Michigan’s facilities.

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THE U.S. ECONOMY is beginning 2009 in the teeth of a recession that started way back at the end of 2007. Within the chemical industry, companies as diverse as industrial gas maker Praxair and fertilizer producer Mosaic have warned of weak earnings in the fourth quarter of 2008 through the first quarter of this year.

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Can’t build a car without parts
Production cuts and tight credit are hurting companies that will supply the parts when auto sales come back.

Auto-parts suppliers may be so weakened by the current economy that it could hold back the industry’s eventual recovery.

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Obama Announces Key Nominees
The U.S. economy continued its slide into December, piling higher the many challenges awaiting President-elect Obama when he takes office in January. He’s already announced plans for a major economic stimulus package, a push for “green” jobs, an aggressive focus on climate and regulatory policy and possibly a different tack on the bailout fund. Just this week, Obama took the next step on the energy and environmental front and announced another round of key cabinet nominees and advisors.

In what was viewed a major development, Obama unveiled in a news conference that he’ll be creating a new White House energy and climate change office. This leaves no doubt that he’s serious about overhauling energy policy and laying the groundwork to address man-made greenhouse gases as top priorities in his first term. Assuming the slot of new climate and energy “czar” will be Carol Browner, with whom the finishing industry worked closely during her record eight years in the Clinton Administration as the longest serving EPA chief.

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