Boreham, former Baldor Electric chairman, dies

Roland S. Boreham Jr., CEO of Baldor Electric Company from 1978 to 1981 and chairman from 1981 through 2004, dies on Sunday, Feb. 5.

Mr. Boreham began his career with Baldor in 1947, working for his father, who was a Baldor grinder representative in Los Angeles. He moved to Fort Smith, Ark., Baldor’s corporate headquarters, in 1961, and became vice president of sales in 1962. He was instrumental in developing Baldor’s network of district offices and warehouses, still in effect today, and one of Baldor’s major competitive advantages.

He developed Baldor’s Value Formula, which combines quality and service, and cost and time. This formula is the center of Baldor’s day-to-day operations and defines the company's goal to create the most value available in the industry for its customers by increasing quality and service and decreasing cost and time.