We have dozens of manufacturers. While not exactly what you want, here is our solution....
skin1/modules/Manufacturers/menu_manufacturers.tpl
Code:
{if $manufacturers_menu ne ''}
{capture name=menu}
<form name="form_manuf" method="get" action="manufacturers.php">
<select size="12" name="manufacturerid" onchange="document.form_manuf.submit()">
{section name=mid loop=$manufacturers_menu}
<option value="{$manufacturers_menu[mid].manufacturerid}">{$manufacturers_menu[mid].manufacturer|truncate:18:"...":true}</option>
{/section}
</select>
</form>
{/capture}
{include file="menu.tpl" dingbats="dingbats_categorie.gif" menu_title=$lng.lbl_manufacturers menu_content=$smarty.capture.menu}
{/if}
What it does is makes a "scroll box" that lists your manufacturers.
The <select size="12".. specifies how many manufacturers are displayed at one time. In this case it is 12 manufacturers high.
The {$manufacturers_menu[mid].manufacturer|truncate:18:"...":true} specifies how long the displayed name is (so it will fit in your column and not wrap). In this case it is 18 characters long.