Baldor Electric Company Contributes $9.9 Million to Employee Profit Sharing and Savings Plan

FORT SMITH, Ark., Feb. 13, 2007 -- Baldor Electric Company markets, designs, and manufactures industrial electric motors, drives, and generators and is based in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Today Baldor announced the results of its 2006 employee profit sharing contribution.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Baldor Employee Profit Sharing and Savings Plan. In 1957, Baldor Electric Company began sharing its profits as a way of sharing the company's financial success with its employees. This philosophy still applies today and is equally important as it was back in 1957. The plan also reinforces the significant role Baldor employees play throughout the year to take care of customers and help the Company be successful.

Today, Baldor contributes approximately 12% of the pre-tax profits to the plan. As a result of record company earnings, this year's profit sharing contribution is $9,969,261, up from $8,938,083 last year. Baldor's sales in 2006 were $811 million, up 12% from the prior year. Baldor's profits in 2006 were $48 million, also up 12%. In the past 5 years, the Company has contributed $36,507,043 to the profit sharing plan on behalf of its employees.

For 2006, there were 2,939 eligible employees in Baldor's profit sharing plan. This year, the profit sharing contribution averages approximately 4.1 weeks of pay for each participant in the plan.

Participants in the Baldor Employee Profit Sharing and Savings Plan have approximately $248 million invested in the plan. In addition, employees retiring from Baldor in 2006 withdrew over $17 million from the plan. The plan is fully funded each year and Baldor employees have 10 investment choices for their money.

John McFarland, Company Chairman and CEO said, "Our Company has been sharing its profits with employees for 50 years. Our profit sharing plan is an outstanding way for Baldor employees to accumulate money for retirement. Most importantly, each and every one of us has the opportunity to increase the amount of profit sharing we receive by finding ways to increase the profit the Company earns."

Baldor Electric Company was founded in 1920. The Company sells its products in more that 60 countries throughout the world. Baldor recently announced it had completed the acquisition of Reliance Electric Company, including Dodge(R) mechanical and Reliance Electric(TM) motors, from Rockwell Automation. The acquisition brings together three of the most respected and preferred names in the industrial motor and power transmission industry.