Baldor Electric Company Announces 1st Quarter 2003 Dividend and Notice Of Annual Shareholders' Meeting

    FORT SMITH, Ark., Feb. 4 -- Baldor Electric Company
markets, designs, and manufactures electric motors, drives, and
generators and is based in Fort Smith, Arkansas.  Baldor's Board of Directors
met on Monday, February 3, 2003.  R. S. Boreham, Jr., Baldor's Chairman, today
made the following announcements.
    Cash Dividend ...  The Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly
cash dividend of $0.13 per share on the Company's common stock.  The cash
dividend is payable on March 31, 2003, to shareholders of record on
March 10, 2003.
    Notice of Annual Shareholders' Meeting  ...  The Board established
March 19, 2003, as the record date for voting at the Annual Shareholders'
Meeting.  The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 am (local time) on Saturday,
May 3, 2003, and will be held at the Fort Smith Convention Center in
Fort Smith, Arkansas.