A few months ago, I ran across a cool little company that no one seemed to know about. After patting myself on the back, I promptly discovered that Tom Gardner had recommended Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE: MSA) back in the September 2003 issue of Motley Fool Hidden Gems. Still, I think it's time to take another look at Mine Safety, and make another bull case for it.

Mine Safety focuses on products for people's health and safety. It develops, manufactures and supplies products including self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs), gas masks, head protection, and body armor for different markets, including fire service, homeland security, construction, and the military. While it does compete against bigger players in the field, such as Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) and United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), Mine Safety possesses some unique advantages that make a compelling investment opportunity.

All the right stuff
This is a competitive and fragmented market that generates more than $10 billion in annual sales, according to Mine Safety. With revenue of about $900 million over the last year, this gives the company about 9% of the market. Both Honeywell and UT have many different product lines, and thus are not focused on this one area, giving Mine Safety the advantage. Plus, there's plenty of room to grow.

International presence
Mine Safety operates in more than 30 countries; in 2009, it did approximately 55% of net sales outside the United States. While you could argue that this opens the company up to potential geopolitical risk, I would counter that we're in an increasingly global economy. Exposure to growing and emerging markets should give the company excellent growth opportunities going forward.

Shareholders count
The company has a rich history of not only generating cash (it's been free cash flow-positive for the past 11 years), but also returning that cash to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks. In fact, today the company sports a solid 4.1% dividend yield, which it has a history of raising. That's comforting news for anyone looking for a little stability to go with their growth.

Looking at it from the inside
I love to see companies with strong insider ownership, and Mine Safety fits the bill nicely. Insiders own approximately 25% of shares outstanding in the company. That's usually a good indicator that management will focus on what's good for the business and its shareholders.

With a meager 11.7 enterprise value-to-free cash flow ratio, and a share price today of just more than $23, Mining Safety Appliances is now lower than when I first spotted it back in April. That only piques my interest even more. While this is just a suggestion, and not a formal recommendation, an investment in Mining Safety Appliances at these levels could provide a little safety for your portfolio.