One obvious example is manufacturing in zero g. parts can be thrown from operation to operation, rather than having to trundle along on a conveyor. launch would have to get pretty damn cheap to make assembling cars in space worthwile

A better example might be fancy chemicals. Rather than purchasing a "very expensive machine" to ensure a specific environment for reaction, it might be cheaper to send the materials to zero g for processing. I'm not a chemist, but watching astronauts play with bubbles and flames in space makes me think you could get a lot of precision by modeling everything as perfect spheres. So, the reactions are simper to model, easier to get accurate and precise outcomes.