Concrete manufacturer Smith-Midland (OTC: SMID, www.smithmid.com) hopes to become an industry heavyweight via a lightweight idea — Slenderwall.

Slenderwall — an exterior wall paneling product that combines concrete and steel — is one of the Midland-based company’s most successful products. It can be designed to match nearly any exterior. At 28 pounds per square foot, Slenderwall is lighter and thinner than conventional masonry, reducing the cost of shipping and installation. Although Slenderwall was first developed in 1993 it’s only now the subject of a national advertising campaign for the firm. "We’ve just really started a push and we’ve already received 3,000 inquiries nationwide," says Rodney Smith, president and CEO of the 40-year-old, 100-employee company.

That’s music to his ears, given the sluggish performance of the company’s stock. It is languishing at less than $1 a share, down from $3.50 at its public offering in December 1996. "I feel very strongly that ... our stock is undervalued," Smith says. It sure is, agrees Damon Testaverde, senior vice president of New Jersey-based Network One Financial Securities, one of the underwriters of Smith-Midland’s IPO. Investors need to be patient with smaller companies, Testaverde says. "No one really cares about small companies that are not dot-coms. Market caps are ridiculous compared to the value of a company." The company reported 1999 revenues of $14.4 million and a net profit of $42,275.

Millions of folks have already seen Smith-Midland’s handiwork. Slenderwall panels were used as part of New York City’s billion-dollar Times Square renovation in anticipation of its millennium celebration. Smith hopes that New York deal is just a drop in the bucket for the burgeoning builders: "We’ve taken in $10 million in new customer orders and commitments the last 110 days."

Smith hopes those concrete numbers will excite investors and boost Smith-Midland’s share price.