"Our Beginnings" Sponsor: Baldor Electric Company

Published on 2008-12-03

"Sponsor Spotlight"

Class of 2009 "Our Beginnings" Sponsor:
Baldor Electric Company

Baldor Electric Company was founded in 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri, by Fred Ballman and Emil Doerr, two entrepreneurial spirits who set out to "build a better motor." In 1956, Baldor built its first plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and in 1967, the corporate headquarters moved to Fort Smith, where it remains today.

Members of the Class of 2009 listen in the 1920s Soda Fountain and
Pharmacy of the Fort Smith Museum of History as Al Whitson,
webmaster of the Fort Smith Historical Society, discusses that
organization's pioneering activities.

Eighty-eight years after its founding, Baldor has 8,300 employees in 28 facilities worldwide that produce nearly $2.0 billion of products each year. Baldor's strategy is to provide the highest-quality, energy-efficient industrial electric motors, power transmission products, drives and generators available in the marketplace. Baldor is rated the most preferred brand by its customers, and the company has the largest market share in the North American industrial electric motor market. Baldor is looking forward to increasing its international business and expanding its line of energy-efficient products.

Baldor has six facilities in the Fort Smith area. The Company understands that developing local community leaders is essential to the growth and further improvement of Fort Smith. Leadership Fort Smith is a program that brings together a variety of bright and enthusiastic individuals who know they can make Fort Smith a better place. Supporting Leadership Fort Smith is an investment in the future of our families, neighborhoods, and businesses.

"Our Beginnings"
*provided an overview of the history of our area to the Class of 2009,
*identified decisions and factors that have made us what we are today,
*added to the class members' appreciation of the values and strengths of our area,
*encouraged members to use their knowledge of our past to shape our regional future.

Leadership Fort Smith thanks Baldor Electric Company for its longtime support as a corporate sponsor.