Compass Minerals International, Inc. produces minerals, including salt, sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer (SOP), and magnesium chloride. As of December 31, 2012, the company operated 12 production and packaging facilities, including a rock salt mine in the world in Goderich, Ontario, Canada, and a rock salt mine in the United Kingdom (U.K.) in Winsford, Cheshire. The company provides highway deicing salt to customers in North America and the U.K. and specialty fertilizer to growers and fertilizer distributors worldwide. It also produces and markets consumer deicing and water conditioning products, ingredients used in consumer and commercial food preparation, and other mineral-based products for consumer, agricultural, and industrial applications. Segments The company has two segments, Salt and Specialty Fertilizer. Salt This segment mines, produces, processes, distributes, and markets sodium chloride and magnesium chloride in North America and sodium chloride in the U.K. This segment’s segment products include rock salt, mechanically evaporated and solar evaporated salt, and liquid and flake magnesium chloride. The company also purchases potassium chloride and calcium chloride to sell as finished products or to blend with sodium chloride to produce specialty products. Operations and Facilities United States: The company’s Cote Blanche, Louisiana rock salt mine serves highway deicing customers through a series of depots located along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers (and their major tributaries) and chemical and agricultural customers in the Southern and Midwestern U.S. Its Central and Midwestern U.S. consumer and industrial customer base is primarily served by its mechanical evaporation plant in Lyons, Kansas. Additionally, the company serves areas with evaporated salt purchased from other suppliers’ facilities. It also operates three salt packaging facilities in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, which principally serve consumer deicing and water conditioning customers in the Central, Midwestern, and parts of the Northeastern U.S. Canada: The company produces finished salt products at four locations in Canada. Its Goderich, Ontario, rock salt mine serves the highway deicing markets and the consumer and industrial markets in Canada and the Great Lakes region of the U.S., principally through a series of depots located around the Great Lakes and through packaging facilities. Mechanically evaporated salt used for its consumer and industrial product lines is produced at three facilities located throughout Canada, such as Amherst, Nova Scotia in Eastern Canada; Goderich, Ontario, in Central Canada; and Unity, Saskatchewan, in Western Canada. U.K.: The company’s U.K. highway deicing customer base is served by the Winsford rock salt mine in Northwest England, near Manchester. Customers and Distribution The company’s primary customers are states, provinces, counties, municipalities, and road maintenance contractors that purchase bulk deicing salt, both treated and untreated, for ice control on public roadways. Its primary chemical customers are producers of intermediate chemical products used in the production of vinyls and other chemicals, and pulp and paper, as well as water treatment and various other industrial uses. The company’s consumer and industrial product line is distributed through various channels, including retail, agricultural, industrial, janitorial/sanitation, and resellers. The consumer and industrial product line is channeled from its plants and third-party warehouses to its customers using a combination of direct sales personnel, contract personnel, and a network of brokers or manufacturers’ representatives. Specialty Fertilizer This segment produces and markets SOP in North America and internationally. SOP is primarily used as a specialty fertilizer, providing essential potassium to increase the yield and quality of certain crops, such as vegetables, fruits, potatoes, nuts, tobacco, and turf grass. The company offers various grades of SOP products, which are designed to serve the special needs of its customers. Its domestic sales of SOP are concentrated in the Western and Southeastern U.S. Operations and Facilities The company produces SOP at two facilities, both located in North America, such as at the Great Salt Lake, near Ogden, Utah and at a site in Wynyard, Saskatchewan. The facility operates approximately 40,000 acres of solar evaporation ponds to produce salt, including magnesium chloride, and SOP from the naturally occurring brine of the Great Salt Lake. The company owns Big Quill Resources, Inc., a Canada’s SOP producer, which added approximately 40,000 tons to its SOP capacity. The facility is located on the south shore of Big Quill Lake near Wynyard, Saskatchewan, Canada. Other DeepStore is the company’s records management business in the U.K. that utilizes portions of previously excavated space in the company’s salt mine in Winsford, Cheshire for secure underground document storage and utilizes two warehouse locations in London, England. Intellectual Property The company’s registered trademarks include American Stockman, DeepStore, DustGuard, FreezGard, K-Life, Nature’s Own, Organic K+, Pristiva, ProSoft, Safe Step, Sifto, Sure Soft, Thawrox, Turf Blend, Winter Storm, and Xtreme Performance. History Compass Minerals International, Inc. was founded in 1993.