Industrial machinery conglomerate Ingersoll Rand (IR) will report second quarter earnings this morning. This is not an earnings preview post or comments about my expectations. Obviously this market is not right in the head, cookoo, insane, whatever you want to call it. So I’m not expecting the stock price to correlate with the fundamental story one way or another. I do want to point out to folks that Ingersoll Rand is a completely different beast that we’ve all known it as. No longer is it construction equipment or the road building machinery that we’ve all seen when driving around. While it still has a lot of those identifiably Ingersoll products, Ingersoll Rand went through a dramatic transformation this past year as it sold off Bobcat (small excavators and loaders) and acquired heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) maker Trane.

Folks should forget the old Ingersoll Rand and focus on the newly-acquired Trane business as that should be the pride and joy going forward. Trane was such a big acquisition that Trane is now the dominant business for Ingersoll Rand, and rightly so. HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) is a major component of both the infrastructure and energy theme, but a story which the media has chosen to neglect. Given the high energy prices, more attention should be paid to HVAC systems since the heating and cooling of buildings, homes, factories, etc. is actually the top user of energy in the U.S. All this talk of alternative fuels for our cars or solar power pales in comparison to the amount of energy we could save on heating and cooling buildings. Also, energy conservation rather than increasing energy production would lighten the load on our already failing power grid. Similarly, it would save costs as we wouldn’t have to build out our power grids and increase power generation capacities with new power plants, wind farms, solar panels, etc.

Last summer, I wrote an in-depth piece on this topic in Four Energy Efficiency Trades for a Cool Summer. I think it’s such a decently written piece that I’m not gonna do it again- just read it! But remember, Trane was a brand of American Standard at the time of the publication, but Trane is now part of Ingersoll Rand. So what was said about Trane now applies to Ingersoll Rand. In 2003, I was part of a team that conducted an energy efficiency study of the Keck Science Building of the Claremont Colleges (CA), working with both Trane and Johnson Controls (JCI) on proposed solutions. I can attest to the importance and viability of the HVAC system to increase energy efficiency.

For a closer look into the “new” Ingersoll Rand, Jim Cramer had a great Mad Money segment dedicated to it: The Great Transformation of Ingersoll-Rand. He explained it much better than I can. Take a gander. Or, read the segment’s transcript on Mad Money Recap.

Referenced Resources:

• Industrial 101: Industrial Products and Equipment for Dummies
• FERC Electric Power Markets: U.S. Government Data, Analysis, and Reports
• Jim Cramer’s Mad Money: The Great Transformation of Ingersoll-Rand
• The Great Transformation of Ingersoll-Rand Transcript
• Mad Money Recap

** Disclosure: I am long IR calls as of this post **

As readers of this site know, I am all about the infrastructure boom. Both for infrastructure growth to support the lighting speed growth in China, India, Mid East…and infrastructure repairs needed in the U.S. I am so convinced that this theme trumps all other investable themes out there that my portfolio is now concentrated on this theme, diversified only by the different components of the infrastructure buildout. First, my conviction is based on the fact that infrastructure is the foundation of modern civilization. We must keep our utilities running so we can have water and power. Witness the chaos in New Orleans after Katrina- New Orleans, a limited area, and yet the importance of our daily infrastructure necessities could not be more obvious. This leads to the second reason for conviction: governments must put infrastructure integrity as a top priority. Same for both the U.S., whose infrastructure needs massive repairs, and China, who is building cities daily. The fundamental need to have solid infrastructure means, to me, governments will finance these projects regardless of the economic conditions…baring a full scale global depression. Even in the depression, we completed big projects like the Hoover Dam, setting ourselves up for decades of power to fuel the growth in on the west coast. Thus, specific infrastructure plays should be relatively insensitive to the slowdown or recession if you look out 3-5 yrs. And although I’m don’t care much for the “long term” investment theories, for these companies you have to look out 3-5 yrs just because many of their projects take several years to complete. But yes, in the long term we’re all dead, so don’t just buy, hold, and forget!

POWER GRID

As just mentioned, the basic utilities are my #1 focus, and the power grid specifically.

“Demand for cable products in the developing regions of the world is being driven by high levels of energy infrastructure, construction and mining activities. Particular strength is coming from government sponsored infrastructure projects in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Additionally, the core infrastructure investment required for the upcoming 2010 World Cup soccer event in South Africa has added pressure to an already taxed energy grid that is also supporting growing mining activities in the region, resulting in increased spending for energy transmission and distribution as well as construction,” said Mathias Sandoval, President and Chief Executive Officer, General Cable Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Mideast/Asia Pacific.” ~General Cable 2008 Q2 Earnings Release

I’ve written many times about the power grid, and the company ABB specifically as they’re one of the most exposed to this trend, but also because public companies with exposure to this theme has been hard to find. Woodward Governor, WGOV, this past quarter has shown to be a strong beneficiary in developing the wind power part of the power grid. I also like SPX corp (SPW) for its transformer business. Thomas & Betts (TNB) has a lot of the small electrical components and makes the huge towers for the transmission lines, but have yet to shown it is benefiting from the power grid repair and buildout. Possibly because a lot of it’s electrical components are also used in industrial and commercial buildings, which aren’t so hot anymore. Also, as more transmission lines are now buried underground rather than strung overhead by steel towers, TNB’s transmission tower growth might be limited. But other than that, it has been difficult to find suppliers of the “stuff” going into the power grid.

The most obvious “stuff” are the transmission lines we see everywhere. However, the biggest transmission line and cable producers, domestic and international, are divisions hidden within larger companies. For example, the biggest producer of copper cables is General Cable (BGC). However, it has so many other businesses and domestic infrastructure construction services that, to me, dilutes the value of the power grid cable business. Sort of like how GE’s finance division diluted the value of its strong global industrial and infrastructure business, but obviously not extreme. Note, though, that BGC bought Phelps Dodge’s copper cable business when Phelps Dodge merged with Freeport McMoran (FCX).

This growth was principally due to the acquisition of Phelps Dodge International Corporation (PDIC) in the fourth quarter of 2007, the Company’s exposure to global electrical infrastructure markets and favorable foreign exchange translation partially offset by lower demand as a result of ongoing weak economic conditions primarily in the United States and Spain which are major markets for the Company. ~General Cable 2008 Q2 Earnings Release

In this one move, copper cables now is the dominating business in BGC, and BGC’s sales will be mostly international- some 64% in the last quarter. The reserve I have of jumping into BGC is whether they have the ability to grow or has become a large supplier of a commodity for the power grid. I have limited slots for power-grid stocks, and BGC isn’t replacing my ABB, WGOV, or SPW yet.

Along the same lines,

South Korean cable maker LS Cable has received regulatory approval from the U.S., Spain and Germany to acquire copper wiring firm Superior Essex and create the third-largest global maker of magnet, communication, industrial and building wire with pro forma consolidated annual revenues of almost $13 billion. ~ LS Cable is Buying Superior Essex, Purchasing.com

Thus, confirming the value of companies supplying power grid components, but many of which are private, international, or subsidiaries of bigger corporations.

BRIDGES

Like the Power Grid story, our road infrastructure repair and upgrade isn’t a question of IF, but WHEN. While companies like Terex (TEX) have taken a beating with the rest of the market, understand that a big wave of demand for road construction equipment is coming, and soon.

“A report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials estimates that $140 billion is needed today to repair all the nation’s bridges. An Associated Press report cites Federal Highway Administration statistics that 152,000 out of the nation’s 600,000 bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

Nearly 25% of the nation’s bridges need repairs, and the average age of America’s bridges is 43 years — seven years shy of the maximum age for which most are designed, according to the “Bridging the Gap” report. One in five U.S. bridges is more than 50 years old.” ~Repairing Bridges would cost $140 Billion, Purchasing.com

The U.S. government is good at just focusing on short term problems or worthless issues, but as more roads crack and bridges collapse, there’ll be another panic to deal with another crisis, and companies like TEX may benefit more than if these road repairs were done right now. A construction/repair binge would likely cause shortages of equipment just as the mining binge now (from decades of neglect to invest) is causing shortages of Joy Global (JOYG) and Bucyrus (BUCY)’s underground mining equipment.

Referenced SuckingLess.com Research Tools:

• Industrial 101: Industrial Products and Equipment for Dummies
• FERC Electric Power Markets: U.S. Government Data, Analysis, and Reports

** Disclosure: I own shares of ABB, WGOV, SPX as of this post **

Coming into July, we were riding the Natural Gas high like we had a straight shot to the moon, especially off big shale announcements like Chesapeake (CHK)’s Haynesville Shale venture. Sure, nothing goes vertical forever and we all knew natural gas would have to “correct” for a while. However, for us at-home mom-and-pop non-commodities traders, a lot of the time it felt like we’re just riding this straight shot to the moon blind.

Thankfully, veteran commodity trader Joe Terranova on CNBC’s Fast Money had a simple rule of thumb to offer: June Highs, July Lows. Does it always work? Of course not! Market’s aren’t that easy! But I did a little check and found this rule of thumb is a good one any of us with natural gas exposure to keep close to heart. I used charts from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Natural Gas Market info- one of my favorite research tools I’ve collected at my SuckingLess.com website.

As you can see, other than the out-of-norm Katrina event in 2005, July natural gas prices have generally been lower than June prices. This weakness seems to persist from July into early or mid august. While natural gas prices in the following December-Januarys are usually higher than the July-August weakness, there are a few years where Natural Gas prices just keep sliding the rest of the year. I suppose Natural Gas prices still depend on the weather and how much of it is used, so it still has that random factor that we should all be aware of.  Personally, I think selling some Natural gas, whether taking partial or full positions off, seems like a smart thing to do given historical trends suggest July will be lower than June. Sure, you might miss another “Katrina” spike, but that feels more like rolling the dice.  Because I didn’t want to be completely out natural gas in case we get the hurricane spike, I’ve kept 25% of my HAL position, but bought USO puts against it.

However, this year, Natural Gas prices have been on a steady climb alongside crude oil’s climb, natural gas looking much less volatile than in the past. Natural gas isn’t a direct replacement of crude oil, but there are various users of energy who can switch between the two. When crude oil gets too expensive, they would switch to natural gas, thus increasing natural gas’s demand and raising it’s prices alongside crude. Jim Cramer offers a separate rule of thumb: Natural Gas prices trade at roughly 1/6 the price of crude oil. So, at the moment, either crude oil is too expensive or natural gas is too cheap

Also, I have offered the analysis of the trend to use much more natural gas for electrical power generation by utilities around the world. This should decrease some of the volatility in natural gas prices as demand becomes more consistent to produce consistent electrical power. Still, we need to do something about our limited storage capacities!

Remember, beyond just owning the companies, dig just slightly deeper into the businesses the companies are in. That’s why I started SuckingLess.com, to collect the most relevant industry magazines and information useful to investors.

SuckinLess.com Research Resources Used:

• FERC Natural Gas Markets: U.S. Government Data, Analysis, and Reports
• Platts: Professional Energy and Metals Information (Prices, Data, Maps, Events, Magazines, Reports)
• Power Engineering Magazine: Power Generation Industry Magazine

**Disclosure: I am long of CHK, HAL, and USO puts as of this post**

Badger meter is popping a nice 9% today on strong Q2 earnings. Compared to Q2 of 2007, Q2 2008 sales are up 20.1%, net earnings up 28.8%, and EPS up 26.3%. These results are in the face of what appeared to be a challenging environment for utility and industrial component suppliers. Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI) confirmed the decrease in utility and local municipal spending (local municipalities have been hit by the credit crisis and the decrease in tax revenues due to rising foreclosures). However, Badger Meter showed us that water utilities are still buying the small infrastructure components such as meters and valves, even as larger projects such as those Chicago Bridge & Iron is involved in are being scrapped. This is another reminder of the big sea change I’ve been concerned with for a while: U.S. infrastructure is deteriorating fast and must be replaced and upgraded. If new big projects such as new utility stations or pipelines have to be canceled, that puts even more pressure on the existing system, requiring advanced technology such as Badger Meter’s AMR (Automatic meter reading) technology to make the existing system more efficient and reliable. Badger Meter also mentioned strength in precision valves and flow sensors due to the continued demand in the petroleum industry.

Also, Badger Meter’s recent acquisition of an automatic metering infrastructure (AMI) system is looking good. Watch for accelerating growth in this product line.

The majority of Badger’s sales are domestic, which is where the weakness concerns have been.  International infrastructure should still be strong across the board.  So if Badger can find strength in the U.S. domestic market, this is a good omen for both Flowserve (FLS) and SPX Corp (SPW), who are leaders in flow technology.

More on Badger Meter:

• Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) Technology
• Business Wire: Badger Meter Reports Record Second Quarter Results

Additional Water Utility Resources featured on SuckingLess.com Research Tools

• WaterWorld Magazine: Water and Wastewater Industry Magazine
• Industrial WaterWorld Magazine: Industrial Water and Wastewater Industry Magazine
• SuckingLess Utility Research Resources

**Disclosure: I own shares of FLS and SPW as of this post**