Baldor Electric Company Announces 1st Quarter 2009 Dividend, Management Promotion and Notice of Annual Shareholders' Meeting

FORT SMITH, Ark., Feb. 23, 2009 -- Baldor Electric Company markets, designs, and manufactures industrial electric motors, mechanical power transmission products, drives, and generators and is based in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Baldor made the following announcements after the Company's Board of Directors' meeting held on February 23, 2009.

Cash Dividend... The Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share on the Company's common stock. The cash dividend is payable on March 31, 2009, to shareholders of record on March 10, 2009.

Management Promotion... The Board of Directors announced the following promotion:

R. Wayne Thurman - Executive Vice President - Engineering

Wayne has been with Baldor for more than 20 years. During that time, he has held numerous manufacturing and engineering positions including Vice President - Engineering, Plant Manager and Engineering Manager. In his new role, Wayne will be responsible for all of Baldor's engineering activities.

Notice of Annual Shareholders' Meeting... The Board established March 16, 2009, as the record date for voting at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting. The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. central time on Saturday, May 2, 2009, and will be held at the Fort Smith Convention Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

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