ITWIllinois Tool Works Inc.

Illinois Tool Works is a set of dozens of independent industrial businesses, each in its own niche and each highly profitable.

The model is unusual for a conglomerate: divisions operate independently, and the centre asks only for high returns and concentration on a few key customers instead of a long tail of small ones. The eighty-twenty rule here is a tool for cutting low-margin work rather than a slogan.

The segments span automotive components, welding equipment, packaging, test instruments and food-service equipment. None carries a critical share, which makes revenue steadier than a single-industry supplier's.

Growth is deliberately moderate: the company prefers margin to volume and returns cash to shareholders rather than building capacity. ITW is a dividend aristocrat with one of the market's longest streaks of increases.