Baldor Electric Company Reports Annual Shareholders' Meeting Highlights and 2nd Quarter 2009 Dividend

FORT SMITH, Ark., May 4, 2009 -- Baldor Electric Company markets, designs and manufactures industrial electric motors, mechanical power transmission products, drives and generators. Baldor made the following report today after the recent Shareholders' and Board of Director meetings.

Annual Shareholders' Meeting Highlights ... The Company's Annual Shareholders' Meeting was held on May 2, 2009, in Fort Smith and attended by over 250 shareholders and guests. Following are the highlights of the meeting.

  --  Company directors Merlin J. Augustine, Jr., John A. McFarland, and
      Robert L. Proost were re-elected to serve three-year terms which will
      expire in 2012.

  --  Shareholders ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the
      Company's independent registered public accounting firm.

  --  Shareholders voted in favor of a proposal to amend the Baldor Electric
      Company 2006 Equity Incentive Plan.

  --  Shareholders voted in favor of a proposal to create the Baldor
      Electric Company Plan for Tax Deductible Executive Compensation.

  --  At the meeting, presentations were made by John A. McFarland, Chairman
      and CEO, and Ronald E. Tucker, President and COO.  A reprint of the
      presentation is available upon request.

Cash Dividend ... The Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.17 per share on the Company's common stock payable on June 30, 2009, to shareholders of record on June 9, 2009.