Early work from the Madix group identified a number of simple surface intermediate species which have proved to be of significance for industrial catalytic processes. Two of these intermediates are the methoxy and formate surface species. We discuss the formation and behavior of these on copper surfaces, and go on to highlight their role in two important industrial reactions, namely methanol synthesis and the selective oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. The formate is the pivotal intermediate for methanol synthesis and is formed from the reaction of CO₂ and H₂, whereas it is important to avoid the formation of that intermediate for selective methanol oxidation, which proceeds through dehydrogenation of the methoxy species.