(FORTUNE Magazine) – STOLT TANKERS & TERMINALS (HOLDINGS) Jacob Stolt-Nielsen Jr.'s course may have been charted long before he was born. He hails from a Norwegian shipping family; his grandfather bought his first ship in 1891. But Stolt-Nielsen himself steered his company into a niche as the world's largest parcel-tanker operator. Stolt Tankers & Terminals is a holding company whose many subsidiaries transport vegetable oils, chemicals, and other bulk liquids -- about 800 in all -- around the globe. Stolt is incorporated in Luxembourg but its headquarters is in Greenwich, Connecticut. As a shipping trainee in London and New York in the 1950s, Stolt-Nielsen became interested in chemicals and vegetable oils because, he says, ''freight rates were high. I found out there were only two of these companies in the whole world, both in New York and both one-man outfits. So it was very hard to get a job.'' Stolt-Nielsen did find a job; he also found that the tankers being used were small, because container leaks prevented ships from carrying more than one type of chemical or oil. ''My contribution was that I figured out how to segregate cargoes and transport them on a big ship.'' His secret: double-skinned tanks, and independent pumps, pipes, and temperature controls for each tank. This permits the company to handle even toxic chemicals safely; / Stolt does not, however, transport chemical waste. Stolt-Nielsen launched Parcel Tankers in 1959. He later changed the name when other companies sprouted and the term became generic. Now Stolt runs 60 ships, 25% of the world's parcel tankers over 10,000 tons. It also operates terminals where ships are berthed and liquids stored, and owns tank containers that can be transported by ship, rail, or truck. Stolt is affected by the demand cycles of the chemical industry. Right now, volume and freight rates are rising. Sally Smith of the securities firm Alex. Brown says a $1-a-ton rate increase means a dramatic $10 million in before-tax earnings for Stolt. In fiscal 1988 the company earned $34.8 million, up from $3.5 million in 1987, on revenues of $435 million. Smith predicts this year's profits will be $50 million on revenues of $470 million. Stolt went public last June at $10.25 a share. The stock was at $18 recently, ten times expected 1989 earnings.

UNITED TOTE No, this company doesn't sell tote bags. It does make computerized betting equipment for race tracks and jai alai stadiums. United Tote, located in Shepherd, Montana, is the smallest of the three main players in the industry, behind Amtote, a division of General Instrument, and privately held Autotote. Analst Mark Plummer of the Stephens Inc. securities firm in Little Rock, Arkansas, expects United to capture more than its current 20% market share, because of its top-notch service. The business is expected to grow as more states legalize horse and greyhound racing. Plummer predicts United's profits this year will rise 35%, to $2.4 million on revenues of $27 million. The stock trades for about $13, a P/E of 11 based on the 1989 forecast. United recently formed a joint venture with Wembley Inc. of London, which owns about 20% of its shares, to acquire race tracks in North America. Wembley will help United market its tote systems abroad.

CURRENT TRENDS PRODUCTIONS At one time, television reports from the real world were limited to news and talk shows. Now they are all over the tube -- some critics call it tabloid TV. Current Trends, based in New York, has sold three nationally syndicated programs, including A Matter of Life and Death, which will be broadcast live in March. The program will present the story of a man on death row. One reporter will try to make a case for the defense; another will do the same for the prosecution. Neither will try to be objective. Another show, Crimewatch Tonight, will run nightly starting in September. Current Trends also produces People Magazine on TV. Reese Schonfeld, chairman of the privately owned company, was the first president of Ted Turner's Cable News Network. He started Current Trends two years ago; last year's revenues were about $10 million, and the company says it's turning a profit.

NORTH HILLS ELECTRONICS For years North Hills Electronics, founded in 1953, languished without significant products or growth. ''This was essentially a job shop -- they were excellent engineers, excellent problem-solvers, but they lacked marketing,'' says Jerome Ballan of Fahnestock & Co., a brokerage firm in New York. North Hills' big break was a 1982 order from IBM for baluns, small adapters used in local computer networks. The networks permit PC users to share information without going through a mainframe. IBM placed only the one order, but North Hills, located in Glen Cove, New York, had itself a business. The company now makes more than 70 types of baluns. Sales for the year ended in January 1989 reached $11 million, up from $2.5 million in 1986. Profits were about $400,000, compared with a $478,000 deficit the year before. Balun-watcher Ballan predicts income will double this year. At $2.50, the stock is selling for eight times that projection.