Chapter 1: Baldor's Beginning
Very early in the
year of nineteen hundred and twenty (1920) two
men conceived the idea of becoming a
manufacturer of electric motors.
They were Edwin C. Ballman, a graduate of Washington University with a Bachelor of Science degree and whose major study was electrical engineering; and Mr. Emil Doerr, who had learned the trade of machinist through many years of first hand experience in all phases of metalworking. Mr. Doerr had advanced through all stages of becoming a master machinist, beginning with his apprenticeship. At the time that he co-founded Baldor, he was eminently qualified as a master machinist.
These two men had worked at the same places, Wagner
Electric Co. and the St. Louis Electric Co. They did
not work closely together in those places, but they
were well acquainted and had confidence in each
other. Mr. Ballman was experienced in the field of
electrical engineering and Mr. Doerr was fully
experienced and knowledgeable in electrical
manufacturing, including motors; also in supervising
and running a metalworking plant. Both were
ambitious and hard working and both were honest.
Each had respect for the other and they became a
team.
In choosing a name for the corporation they agreed
to use the first part of the name of one founder
(Ball) and the full name of the other (Doerr)
(Ball-Doerr). To make the name simpler and more
distinctive a new word was coined, hence Ball-Doerr
became Baldor. This was a good choice because Baldor
is distinctive and rare.
The original basis for going into the motor business
was to "Make a Better Motor". This basis was adhered
to strictly, not only at the beginning, but
throughout the company's history. In fact, the
company's original slogan
--
"Baldor
--
a Better Motor" —
aptly expressed the company's philosophy, then and
now.
From the very beginning Mr. Oliver A. Baumann, amply
experienced in office procedure and administration,
was an essential part of the "beginning" of Baldor
Electric. He left his position at St. Louis Electric
Co. to become a charter officer of Baldor. His
knowledge and experience in the "office functions"
of business supplemented the work of the basic
founders.
Hence, the fledgling company, Baldor, had the
talent, experience, knowledge and entrepreneurship
to move the company forward.
There were only five charter members of Baldor
Electric Co.: E. Ballman, E. Doerr, O.A. Baumann,
J.F. Gerleman and Dr. J.W. Shaw.
The original officers were:
·
E.Ballman, President;
·
E.
Doerr, Treasurer;
·
O.A.
Baumann, Secretary; and
·
J.F.
Gerleman, Vice-President.
(J.F. Gerleman, a Baldor Sales Representative was
not very active in the company operations; Dr. J.W.
Shaw was not active at all.)
Baldor's first "plant" was a small "store" in
the 4100 block of Laclede Avenue in St. Louis, MO.
It employed from 10 to 15 workers, some of whom
became foremen at a later date. In it was
manufactured only single phase, repulsion-induction
motors, 1/4 HP through 3/4 HP. Customers liked
the design and performance of these motors. They had
rugged commutators, brush riggings, and a type of
centrifugal switch that was mounted on the end of
the armature opposite to the commutator. E. Ballman
had a patent on this centrifugal switch, which was
one reason for his wanting to manufacture electric
motors. Even more importantly, Baldor motors had
ball bearings as standard, and for which there was
no additional charge. Ball bearings were
not standard with any other United States motor
maker.
The company quickly outgrew the size of the small
store on Laclede Avenue. In 1921, Baldor purchased
and moved into its first real "factory", a one story
building 48 feet wide and 129 feet long (6,192
square feet) at 4353 Duncan Avenue, St. Louis, MO.
This factory was purchased, which started a
tradition to own rather than rent manufacturing
space. Business was good in 1921, so much so that
Baldor made its first plant expansion early in 1922.
I can well remember that expansion because it was
under construction when I started to work at Baldor
on March 24, 1922. The addition consisted of adding
57 feet across the entire width of 48 feet. To
utilize all of the land space available, the
addition was three stories high: a basement as first
floor; a floor at the level of the existing
building; and a second floor above the level of the
original building; totalling 8,208 square feet.
The expansion typified one of the admirable
characteristics of our then president, Mr. E.
Ballman. Being an engineer, and a man with great
common sense, he found a way to get the most out of
Baldor's limited land space without jeopardizing
operations. How did he do this? He used the lower
floor (the basement) for certain factory operations
such as winding of coils, motor repairing, and other
operations that did not involve the moving of heavy
materials. The ground floor was used for receiving
and storing valuable materials like ball bearings,
commutators, insulating goods and others, and the
additional space added to the original building for
machining and other heavier operations. The top
floor was used for offices because this floor would
not sustain heavy weight. This also freed space in
the original building for manufacturing operations.
The arrangement of the addition and the way in which
the space was used enabled the company to acquire
usable space of 8,208 square feet on a land space of
2,736 square feet, a neat accomplishment especially
since all of the space was needed to serve customer
requirements which continued to grow month by
month.
By 1922 it was safe to say that Baldor had
finished its "beginning" successfully. We still
manufactured only single phase motors, but the
range of sizes was now from 1/4 HP through 2 HP.
Customers liked Baldor motors from the very start
and business was good and increasing with each
month. As early as January 1, 1922, Baldor had
passed through the "starting up" stage and was
functioning as a going company. It was
well-organized, well-financed, and it was making a
profit. In a very real sense, it was a growing motor
manufacturer.
Chapter 2: The Formative Years
The years of 1922 through 1932 can correctly be
called the "Formative Years". These years showed
steady progress in all areas of the company's
business. Slow but steady growth in sales, plant
size, profits, personnel, and organization were the
chief characteristics of this era.
For much of this era Baldor made only single phase
repulsion induction motors. We were selling them to
a small number of manufacturers of pumps, air
compressors, floor sanders, and other manufacturers
of equipment that needed a motor with high starting
torque or the other performance characteristics of
repulsion induction motors. Others liked Baldor
motors because they had ball bearings; others
because they were totally enclosed. In addition to
original equipment manufacturers, Baldor got some
business from electric motor dealers who liked the
rugged construction and good performance of Baldor
motors.
By the mid-1920s, Baldor made repulsion induction
motors from 1/ 6 HP through 7 1/2 HP. By that time
we also had developed a complete line of polyphase
motors 1/6 HP through 20 HP. In addition, we made
single phase capacitor start and run motors which
were sold to many manufacturers of unit heaters and
fans. Through the entire period 1922 through 1932,
all Baldor motors were totally enclosed, and all had
ball bearings. These two advantages, plus a price
that was approximately equal to competitive sleeve
bearing open type motors, enabled Baldor to get
repeat business with an ever-increasing sales
volume.
During this time frame Baldor did not sell motors
nationally, rather our business came from customers
located close to our factory in St. Louis, MO. Most
of Baldor's business came from customers in
Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin,
with occasional orders from the Boston and New York
areas. One reason for finding customers close to St.
Louis was that Baldor sold its motors "Free on
Board" St. Louis, MO. There was no freight
allowance; the customer paid the transportation
expense.
Our most active sales representative was Mr. E.
Willett Bruce, who along with his family, became
shareholders early in Baldor's history. Shortly
after Mr. Bruce started with Baldor, he became Vice
President of Sales and a company Director. His home
base was Chicago, IL. For a year or so he worked as
a sales representative, but was soon promoted to
Sales Manager for the entire United States. He hired
several salesmen to cover the Chicago and Northern
Illinois territory and by the mid-1920s managed the
Baldor-Chicago Sales office. Under Mr. Bruce's
direction, representatives for other territories
were named; and while they obtained some business,
most orders continued to come from states close to
St. Louis.
One phase of our business in the 1920s deserves
special mention because it greatly influenced
Baldor: Mr. J.F. Gerleman became Baldor's St. Louis
sales representative, for the St. Louis area and in
Illinois as far north as Bloomington, IL. Mr.
Gerleman developed a volume customer, the Williams
Oil-O-Matic Oil Burner Co., which bought Baldor
motors in large quantities. Their needs expanded to
such an extent that Baldor built a plant in
Bloomington adjacent to Williams Oil-O-Matic. Baldor
made many thousands of motors there, all for
Williams Oil-O-Matic, year after year in the 1920s.
They were by far our largest customer for the years
1924 through 1929. Shortly thereafter, Williams
Oil-O-Matic decided to build motors for their own
use, and ceased buying from Baldor, at which time
the Baldor Bloomington, Illinois, plant was closed.
During Baldor's formative years there was not a
traumatic event or change in operations. Under the
direction of its original officers the company made
steady and continuous progress adding to its product
lines, increasing sales, and showing better earnings
through the year of 1931. The great depression of
1929-1933 caused sales and profits to drop somewhat
which interrupted a long period of year-by-year
growth and pros¬perity. By the middle of 1933 Baldor
started moving ahead again.
