Analysis of the Topps Company :: Chewing Gum Companies Businesses Audits Essays

Analysis of the Topps Company The Topps Company, among other things discussed later, is in the business of manufacturing chewing gum and confections. According to the strain and Company Resource Center, the Topps is involved in ten different industry categories. They are listed here with their respective SIC/NAICS codes Commercial Printing (2759), Chewing mucilage (2067), Candy and Other Confectionary products (2064), Periodicals Publishing and Printing (2721), Dolls and Stuffed Toys (3942), other Commercial Printing (323119), Confectionary Manufacturing from Purchased Chocolate (311330), Non-Chocolate Confectionary Manufacturing (311340), Doll and Stuffed Toy Manufacturing (339931), and Periodical Publishers (511120). All of these product industries exclusivelyowed Topps to accumulate gross revenue of $302.9 million in pecuniary year 2002.Topps primarily manufactures sticker collections, confections, comic books, and collectible trading cards. These are the companys most popula r and mainly produced products within its international market. Most of Topps success has come from the production of the confections and trading cards. These two aspects of their overall industry are by far the most measurable and beneficial to the company as a whole. With all of the products that Topps produces, there are of course many raw materials that contribute to each entertainment product. In fiscal year 2002, Topps spent $6,395 on their raw materials as compared to $2,860 spent in 2001. The companys sports cards are the most popular and require a few materials. Film must be on hand constantly, as photographs must be taken of each athlete before computerized technology adds pictorial designs to be put on the cards. Other materials needed for their collectible trading cards include large sheets of paperboard for the photos to be printed on, and plastic coating or foil lining to add additional interest to each card. These substrates are purchased in sheet form from spe cialty printers and are added to the paperboard before be placed on a pressing machine that cuts the paperboard into the individual cards. Raw materials for their confectionary products include many different types of sugars and both natural and artificial flavorings to be mixed in large vats before world processed through another pressing machine which cuts the candy into individual pieces. Eventually, each confectionary product is draped in paper or plastic to secure freshness. Paper and adhesives are the primary materials used for the sticker collections produced by Topps. Inks and dyes are used on all products in some shape or form whether it be on a wrapper or on the collectible trading cards being printed up.

Sodium (Na) :: Science Chemistry

Sodium (Na)Sodium has an atomic number of 11 and a mass of about 23g. It is a silvery white-metallic element classified under the cornerstone metals. Sodium has been known since early times and was utilise by the people of Mesopotamia and Egypt to make glasses. Sodium is the sixth almost common element found on the earth. It is usually not found in nature but more often in compounds such as salt (NaCl). Sodium conducts heat and electricity easily. Without this element life could not exist. Each compound is personad for a certain reason. About 2.8 percent of the earths crust contains this element making it the sixth most common in the earths crust. Sodium is found in compounds among dry lake beds, underground, and as well as in seawater in such places as Belarus, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, Ukraine, unify Kingdom, and the United States. Sodium is an extremely chemically active element. If combined with water it tends to react vigorously. For example . Since, sodium is such a dangerous element it has to be handled with care and stored airtight meaning without oxygen. Sodium was first extracted into pure form in 1807 by an English chemist known as Sir Humphry Davy. He used the process of electrolysis where an electrical current is passed through a molten sodium compound such as sodium chloride, sodium was first extracted into its pure form. many manufacturers today still use electricity to obtain sodium. Sodium is still highly manufactured for many industrial and commercial uses. Sodium has commercial uses as well as industrial uses. From soaps to fertilizers, sodium is used to make water softeners, textiles, and is used as well as to relieve stomach acid, sodium hydrogen carbonate a white crystalline weakly alkaline salt NaHCO 3 used especially in baking 1 powders, fire extinguishers, and medicine. (Definition from Structure and Matter, Glossary) Photographers use sodium thiosulphate a hygroscopic crystalline salt Na 2 S 2 O 3 used especially as a fixing agent (Definition from Structure and Matter, Glossary)and a reducing or bleaching agent to fix photographic images on paper. Sodium in its pure form in addition has industrial uses such as in catalyst which help in making synthetic rubber. Sodium is combined with other metals to produce titanium zirconium and many other chemicals. It is used in the manufacture of tetraethyl lead and some power plants even use it in liquid form to cool nuclear reactors.