JJC:    This week, I wanted to do a series about great American manufacturing companies... the ones that are selling the best products for the lowest prices, courtesy of our great engineering and the cheap dollar... to the rest of the world! They're part of the American economy that doesn't get talked about in the media. They used to be totally dependent on the Federal Reserve... but now, because of the strength of the global economy, most of these companies could not care less about the Fed, as I did during the non-entity, that was the Fed's quarter-point cut today...

But, on Day One of this series, when I was talking to Sandy Cutler, the CEO of Eaton Corp. (ETN), I realized that these companies were much more than fantastic manufacturers... they are the new technology companies!...

They've got organic growth that's generally as good, or much better, than the companies we traditionally consider as tech... You know what I mean... Those Cisco (CSCO)s... the ones that are focused entirely on making flashier gadgets....

But these companies are using the technology that engineer products that the global economy needs... technology that actually improves the importance stuff... like how we build things, and how we power them... and these companies are much cheaper than any of the old tacky techs that everyone follows over at the Nasdaq... much cheaper on a price-to-earnings-multiple basis... which brings me to today's stock...

Another one you've never heard of, and no one cares about, other than the people that work there... the stock is Harsco Corp. (HSC)...

Unlike the Eaton Corp. (ETN)s and the Parker Hannifin (PH)s of the world... the two other stocks I talked about in this series so far... HSC doesn't mainly build things; it's primarily a service provider, locked to the steel industry. But it's providing services to the same new technology complex that's building things all around the world... infrastructure... and make no mistake about it... HSC is worldwide...

Now, it may be based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania... but 70% of its sales are international.

HSC has become a modern-age service provider to industrial producers and builders of worldwide infrastructure, that has consistently exceeded expectations quarter after quarter after quarter...

Do you get that from Intel (INTC)? Have you seen it from Mister Softy? I didn't think so...

HSC has already made us some money, since I recommended it a little more than a year ago, April 10th of 2007... The stock was at $45. Now, it's almost at $60...

Did you get that (profit/gain) from National Semiconductor (NSM)?... From Analog Devices Inc. (ADI)?... No.

We're up 31%, which I regard as better than a sharp stick in the eye...

HSC has three divisions. It's got Mill Services. It makes up 42% of sales... 31% of earnings... Access Services... even more obscure... 38% of sales and 39% of earnings... and Minerals and Rails Services... 20% of sales and 30% of earnings...

Okay... The key to this company is that it's providing higher value-added, technology-based services to historically great end markets... HSC is the service company behind the great manufacturers and the builders in this country.

All right, what does a HSC do... just in case you were inclined to buy some?... What's it mean to be a service provider in the steel mills?... What the heck does "Access Services" mean?...

You came to the right place... you came to Cramerica...

Let's start with Access Services, since it makes up the largest portion of HSC's earnings...

HSC provides industrial services to the construction and petrochemical businesses globally... They're the largest provider of rental scaffolding for major construction and infrastructure companies... Lots of business in the Middle East, not to mention the 2012 London Olympics, and the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Then there's HSC's Mill Services division, which provides treatment cleanup, onsite recycling, byproduct processing, and some maintenance services to steel mills... How much do we like steel?... Remember when we recommended United States Steel (X) at Penn State, 20 points ago?...

Beyond that, HSC uses technology to convert waste from these mills into cash. They do the same thing for mining companies... HSC takes mineral byproducts and turns them into high-quality cement additives...

That's real technology... We're not talking about making a better stereo... We're not talking about making video game consoles... We're talking about stuff that matters!...

Finally, there's HSC's Mineral and Rail Services division. Right now, it's experiencing a fantastic turnaround, along with the rails, which almost all hit 52-week highs today...

On the rail side - and you know we're liking the rails, skee-dad - HSC provides track maintenance, and services and equipment. Their track technology business is booming, as old track is being replaced by more efficient track, as part of the broader railroad boom... something we have talked about on this show endlessly... Higher fuel prices mean more rail traffic.

HSC's doing a lot of rail business in China...

HSC's a real tech company, one that's constantly innovating to provide better services, and get more out of steel production, construction, rail construction, maintenance, mining... all the boring stuff that makes you money in this market!... Oh, unless you like Sun Microsystems (JAVA)...

It's not just trying to build a better MP3 player... It's using technology to try and build real things better, which is the definition of new tech, and I think exactly why the HSCs and the Parker Hannifin (PH)s and the Eaton (ETN)s of the world are working! And the Garmin (GRMN)s of the world are stinking!... Sell, sell, sell!

If you Mapquest tech, it will send you to Cleveland and Camp Hill, Pennsylvania... not Silicon Valley...

Right now, HSC trades at 15x expected 2009 earnings... 15! It's got a 15% growth rate, for heaven's sake. That's cheaper than any tech company I follow, with more growth than most...

Here's the bottom line...