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Show WATER EUTTl'MENT EUTl KE BRIGHT One of our increasingly vital needs for the decade of the 1980s will be for more clean andor potable water. In the past, the improper management of this essential resource has made headlines on more than one occasion, indicating that there is a genuine growing awareness of some of our water quality problems as well as our future needs. An inevitable result, of course, will be that companies catering to our water requirements will benefit from steadily more frequent calls for their services and products. The field is somewhat general and comprised of many segments, but in this article we have focused upon those companies which produce machinery and equipment for the treatment and processing of water. There is no question but that efforts to clean up our water supplies for both industrial in-dustrial use and drinking purposes will mean greater expansion for such firms. SCARCITY ANOTHER FACTOR It is difficult to keep pace with the continuing sharp rise in water usage throughout the nation. In spite of an overabundance of water in some geographic areas of the U.S., it is not always possible to meet the rising daily demands where they are at present more concentrated. Requirements are constantly on the rise as a result of our still-growing population and the greater focus in certain localities of a sophisticated industrialized society. Large areas from California to Texas are consuming water at rates that can-" can-" not be long sustained. Hence, the peril of scarcity coupled with the call for improved im-proved water quality clearly indicate the future potential for firms turning out the machinery and equipment to accomplish ac-complish these goals. Today's water problem involves not , only treatment through recycling but also conservation and transportation. Fortunately, U.S. companies have the technology and equipment to do the job. NUMEROUS CONTESTANTS There are numerous companies doing do-ing business in the overall field of pollution pollu-tion control or one of its many facets, and water quality control is but one part of this extremely broad coverage. Even in water treatment itself, many firms are involved. For quite a few companies, that part ' of annual revenues coming from water operations is fairly limited, while for others it represents the bulk of sales and earnings. So, it is important lor shareholders or potential investors to be aware of the relative contribution ol water interests to revenues and profits to determine the likely course of financial finan-cial results for companies under consideration con-sideration in this industry. PROFIT BOOSTERS Supplying more water and caring properly for existing sources are not the only important factors brightening the prospecls for the many companies producing the necessary water treatment treat-ment equipment or supplying key related services. On the whole, these concerns have enjoyed en-joyed several years of expanding business to buttress their financial positions. posi-tions. Many have had the benefit of participation par-ticipation in other lucrative pursuits. It should be noted, too, that most of them have had time to develop an expertise which should help them to prosper as demand for their machinery and services ser-vices expands. The Research Department of Bab-son's Bab-son's Reports has recently concluded a study of several water equipment companies com-panies whose prospects appear to be rather bright. In general, our staff is advising clients to maintain this tvpe of equity in growth-oriented portfolios because of the favorable outlook. And at present, Babson's favors purchase of one particularly par-ticularly promising situation, namely Millipore Corporation, for investment representation in the field related to water equipment. For those interested in considering purchase of this interesting issue, a report on Millipore Corporation may be obtained free from Babson's Reports Inc., Wellesley Hills, Mass.. 02181. |