Ecolab: Clean Gains & Sustainability – Moneyshow.com (registration)

Im adding a 94-year-old company with a 31-year history of dividend growth to the Safe Income Tier of our model portfolio; the company is a leader in the rapidly growing field of sustainability, notes Chloe Jensen Lutts, income specialist and editor of Cabot Dividend Investor.

Get Top Pros' Top Picks, MoneyShows free investing newsletter

Ecolab (ECL) was founded in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1923. The companys original product was a hotel carpet cleaner called Absorbit.

Now, 90 years later, Ecolab operates in 170 countries and still provides cleaning products and training to the hospitality industry. But the company has expanded broadly largely through acquisitions and now also serves companies in the food, healthcare, industrial and energy industries.

Most products are related to cleaning or water, and generally help customers be both more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

For example, Ecolabs 3D TRASAR technology monitors the water conditions in industrial cooling systemslike those used in power plantsso they operate more efficiently and use less water.

In the food processing industry, Ecolabs antimicrobial wash for fruits and vegetables reduces spoilage and food waste, while also preventing food-borne illnesses like E. coli and Salmonella.

But because Ecolabs technologies are indispensable to those who use them and the company is the undisputed leader in the space, the vast majority of its revenues are recurring and cash flow is rock solid.

Over the past five years, free cash flow per share has increased every year by an average of 18% per year.

Visit link:
Ecolab: Clean Gains & Sustainability - Moneyshow.com (registration)