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Baldor Electric Announces 1st Quarter 2000 Dividend

8 February 2000

Baldor Electric Company Announces 1st Quarter 2000 Dividend, Annual Meeting Record Date, and Stock Repurchase Program Authorized

    FORT SMITH, Ark., Feb. 8 -- Baldor Electric Company
markets, designs, and manufactures electric motors and drives and
is based in Fort Smith, Arkansas.  Baldor's Board of Directors met on
February 7, 2000.  R. S. Boreham, Jr., Baldor's Chairman, today announced the
following:

    1st Quarter 2000 Dividend
    The Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.12 per
share on the Company's common stock.  The cash dividend is payable on March
31, 2000, to shareholders of record on March 10, 2000.

    Annual Meeting Record Date
    The Board established March 10, 2000, as the record date for voting at the
Annual Shareholders' Meeting to be held on April 29, 2000, in Fort Smith,
Arkansas.

    Stock Repurchase Program
    Today the Board authorized the repurchase of up to 1.5 million additional
shares of the Company's common stock.  This new stock repurchase program will
expire December 31, 2001.  This brings the total shares authorized for
repurchase since September 1998 to 4.5 million.  The repurchase program may
encompass both open market and negotiated transactions.
    Mr. Boreham commented, "Over 2.6 million shares of this authorization have
been repurchased in the last 17 months.  The Board believes this is a good
investment and builds value for our shareholders."