(FORTUNE Magazine) – Kasler Corp. Analyst Richard Rossi of Dean Witter likes this publicly held engineering contractor because it is about the only pure play in the highway infrastructure game. The San Bernardino company was coasting along constructing bridges and highways mostly in California until government funding slowed in 1983. Kasler began paving roads in other states, only to underbid contracts in Texas and underestimate winter storms in the Rockies. By 1985 earnings crumbled to a loss of $9 million. Then founder Jeff Kasler began cutting overhead, selling equipment, raising prices, and bidding mainly on snow-free jobs in Arizona and California. Last year the company reported earnings of $1.1 million on sales of $106 million. Rossi estimates that profits for the year ending October 1988 will be over $4 million on sales of at least $125 million.

Claudia King & Associates The San Francisco consulting firm finds its opportunities in the casualties of the U.S. economy: businesses wallowing in Chapter 11 reorganizations. Founder Claudia King uses specially designed software to help these companies cope with all the legal paperwork that has to be filed with the courts. In just 30 days, her program listed all the creditors and the liabilities of Allegheny International, a process that would normally take six months. Last year five new clients -- a who's who of losers that included Todd Shipyards and Worlds of Wonder -- helped boost the privately held firm's sales 25% to $1.5 million. King is anticipating a 50% in increase in 1988 because she thinks bankruptcies will hit historic highs.

Michaels Stores Inc. Its business is the whimsical one of selling arts and crafts, but Michaels started out in one of the dourest markets: the dried-up oil patch. Michaels sells silk and dried flowers, oil paints, picture frames, model airplanes and ships, greeting cards, and party favors to serious artists as well as dabblers. In 1984, when it went public, Michaels had seven stores in Texas and three out of state; now it has 100 throughout the South, Midwest, and West. About 90% of Michaels shoppers are women, and 25% of them visit the store once a week. Says CEO B. B. Tuley: ''The average price of the goods in our place is $8. So women shop in Michaels the way a man would in a hardware store.'' Last year earnings rose 47% to $4.9 million on sales of $167 million. Financial analyst Lynn Detrick of Underwood Neuhaus in Houston considers Michaels one of ''my strongest buy recommendations, with very good growth prospects.''

Expeditors International of Washington Inc. The sales of this publicly held freight forwarder have been growing at an average annual rate of over 50% in the past five years, making the company the largest American firm shipping goods from the Far East. Expeditors International buys space from airlines and ocean liners and resells it to such companies as Apple Computer, IBM, Nike, and Motorola. Not only does it ship the parts and products these companies have outsourced in Asia to the U.S., but Expeditors also shepherds client goods through customs. About two years ago, realizing a weakening dollar could hurt business, the company bought a firm that ships American-made products around the world, and now exports make up 30% of Expeditors' gross profits. Security analyst William Whitlow of Dain Bosworth expects earnings to grow about 15% from last year's $5.8 million and sales to be up 26% from the current $146.8 million as Expeditors exploits a new market -- carrying goods from the Far East to Europe.