Newsletter guru Jim Oberweis says he’s finding great value in small-cap, niche-type companies in some very unexciting places.

“Niche businesses can pop up anywhere these days, and I’ve found many exceptional small-cap opportunities with phenomenal growth doing business in unexotic locales,” Oberweis writes in his latest Forbes column. “In fact, my four favorites hail from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio. Each is growing rapidly because of proprietary product offerings, and all four will grow in the coming year at rates much faster than the broader economy.”

In addition, Oberweis says these “gems” haven’t yet been discovered by big institutional investors, and are early in their growth cycles. Among the picks: Wisconsin-based Twin Disc, which makes heavy-duty power transmission equipment used on sea and on land. His other picks include a pharmacy benefits manager; a firm that makes engineered materials for electrical, electronic, thermal and structural applications; and a handbag maker. To read the full article, click here.