LMT News

BALDOR CONFIRMS PLANS TO ACQUIRE RELIANCE ELECTRIC

Baldor Electric Company (Fort Smith,AR) has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Reliance Electric Company (Greenville, SC) and certain of its affiliated companies (the “Power Systems business”) of Rockwell Automation, Inc. Rockwell had put Reliance (which markets its products under the Reliance Electric® and Dodge® brand names) up for sale last summer.

Baldor will purchase 100% of the equity interest in the Power Systems business for $1.8 billion, comprised of $1.75 billion in cash and approximately 1.6 million shares of Baldor common stock, with a market value of $50 million, based on Baldor’s volume weighted average stock price over the prior ten trading days.The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2007 and is subject to customary closing conditions and necessary regulatory approvals. Going forward, the combined company will be one of the leading North American manufacturers of industrial electric motors and power transmission products.

According to John McFarland, Chairman and CEO of Baldor, the Reliance and Dodge businesses are a great fit with his company’s existing operations. “The Power Systems business will complement and add strength to Baldor’s product line,”he notes.”It, like Baldor,provides the best industrial products available in the marketplace and sells them to value-minded customers. Dodge products have been available for over 125 years, Reliance motors for over 100 years and Baldor motors for over 85 years. These companies have a long history of customer preference and good profitability. Baldor,Dodge and Reliance have strong reputations in the industrial marketplace. This is a unique opportunity to build a stronger company for our customers, our employees and our shareholders.”

KAYDON EXPANDS SECOND PLANT IN SOUTH CAROLINA

KAYDON® Bearings Division, a leading global designer and manufacturer of standard and custom bearings, announced it would expand its second Sumter, SC facility, known as Plant 12, with an investment in excess of $18.5 million. The move is expected to create 50 new jobs in Sumter County. The company had announced plans last July to expand Plant 4, with a $10.8 million investment–and creation of 37 new jobs. KAYDON is a recognized leader in thin-section bearings and also produces large and small turntable bearings and higherlevel bearing assemblies for a wide range of manufacturing and process industries. Headquartered in Muskegon, MI, the company is a unit of KAYDON Corporation, a diversified manufacturer with annual sales of over $350 million.

POLARIS GROWS NATIONAL FIELD SERVICES AND SALES

POLARIS Laboratories recently announced development of a Field Services Division and an increase in its national sales team coverage. Included among a number of personnel announcements related to this move were the appointment of Brett Minges as vice president of Sales. Minges, at one time, was a partner in Lubricon, a fluid analysis laboratory that had been based in Indiana.Most recently, he was area general manager for Stewart & Stevenson, a distributor for Detroit Diesel and Allison products. Polaris also named Walt Huysman, CLS, OMA, as director, Field Services.Huysman joined POLARIS as its Northeast & Midwest Territory sales manager in 2002.

GET READY FOR WINTER WITH GRAINGER’S HELP

Over the years, emergency experts have advised people to prepare for storms ahead of time, yet research indicates only 18% of adults living in storm-prone areas describe themselves as “very prepared” for a natural disaster such as a winter storm. Striving to create a safer work environment for businesses, Grainger is helping organizations across North America prepare for the upcoming winter storm season through a new winter storm program designed to educate customers on ways to mitigate potential dangers caused by these storms. As part of this timely program, the company has created a 12-page “Winter Storm Preparedness Guide” and posted it for download on www.grainger.com winter to help businesses and institutions prepare in advance for a storm. To request a free copy in electronic PDF or print format, e-mail robb.kristopher@grainger.com

SMRP NEWS

Among the highlights of the recently held 14th Annual Conference of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) in Birmingham, AL, was the election of new officers. Leading the organization for 2007 will be Tom Byerley, chair, Tom Goshert, vice chair,David Staat, treasurer, Rick Baldridge, secretary, and Chuck Armbruster, past chair. LMT