Monti killed that deal on a theory called conglomeratization: By buying a maker of machinery that produces rival plastic bottles, Tetra Laval could in a few years leverage its lead position in cartons to also control plastic alternatives (glass bottles and tin cans are the packaging products still out of Tetra Laval's reach).

FORBES: Two-card Monti

When he famously gained a manufacturing foothold with the plastic flowers in the 1950s, he says, he was able to engineer critical molding machinery with an injection process made using a Coca-Cola (nyse: KO - news - people ) bottle and a plastic straw, using something he saw in Modern Plastics as a guide.

FORBES: Thoughts of Chairman Li

Also, some cargo just isn't nice to have in your passenger compartment. (Bags of fertilizer or pieces of greasy machinery come to mind.) The Avalanche's bed is covered in a tough plastic lining, easily hosed out or just left harmlessly filthy.

CNN: Chevy Avalanche: Big truck for the real world