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TWST: What's going on in the industrial equipment space?
Mr. Liptak: I've been an industrial analyst since 1995, always covering
machinery and industrial components. Barrington Research is a great firm and I
thank you for the opportunity to talk with The Wall Street Transcript. We are
holding our annual Barrington Industrial Conference on May 21, 2008 in Chicago.
We have 30 excellent industrial companies presenting to small groups and in one-
on-one meetings throughout the day.
During my 13-year career, I have covered large cap industrial and small cap
industrial. The US industrial universe is very resilient. We've been here before
with industrial companies faced with weakness in the overall economy. I've been
around long enough to know what a bad manufacturing environment looks like and
what a good one looks like. TWST: How bad is it?
Mr. Liptak: It's not good, but it's not nearly as bad as it was in the last
recession. In 1998 through 2003, industrial manufacturing went through a
recession/depression that was the worst that it had been in 30 years. For some
industries, it was the worst slowdown that they had seen in 50 years and at that
point, industrial manufacturing was at the bottom of the barrel in terms of
sectors. If you had a range of sectors from housing, health care, automotive,
consumer, retailing, banking, insurance, and all the way down the line to
industrial, I think industrial was pretty well close to the bottom. In the 2008
recession, industrial companies are at the top of the heap. I think we've got
some of the best visibility, some of the best fundamental trends, and frankly
some of the best-managed companies that are out there.
Tickers included in this excerpt: GEF, KMT, LECO, MSA, OSK, TRS
For more information call (212) 952 7433. The
Wall Street Transcript does not endorse any of the comments made by interviewees, and does
not make stock recommendations.
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