Niche industrials: 1 buy and 1 hold

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Tennant and MTS (see n) have risen sharply in the past few years and now seem expensive in relation to their earnings. However, we feel Tennant’s environmentally friendly products will sell faster than MTS’s testing systems, at least in the next year or two. TENNANT CO. $68 (New York symbol TNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 18.4 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.tennantco.com) makes industrial floor-cleaning equipment, including scrubbers, sweepers and polishers. It also manufactures cleaning gear for garages, stadiums, parking lots and city streets. In 2008, the company started selling equipment featuring its ec-H20 technology, which uses electricity to turn tap water into a chemical-free cleaning solution. This helps cut the machine’s operating costs. Strong demand for this equipment increased the company’s sales by 9.4% in the three months ended June 30, 2014, to a record $219.1 million from $200.2 million a year earlier. Sales of ec-…