Forty Under 40: Ed Ralston

The acquisition of Reliance Electric from Rockwell Automation was so unprecedented that Baldor Electric had to create a new position to see it through.

Enter Ed Ralston, the company’s vice president of finance and treasurer since 2004, and a veteran of Baldor since 1995. A 1991 University of Arkansas alumnus and a native of Charleston, Ralson has spent most of his life in Northwest Arkansas.

Before purchasing Reliance Electric, which crafts industrial strength motors that produce as much as 15,000 horsepower, for $1.8 billion in January, the biggest acquisition the company had made was for $40 million involving standby generators in 2002.

This time Baldor, known best for producing sub-50 horsepower motors, had to secure financing in the private equity market.

As his title implies, Ralston not only oversaw the successful bid to fund the Reliance purchase, he has supervised the integration that has doubled the company’s size and revenue.

That means more relationships to build and the part of the job that gets Ralston “rolling.”

He said others may be more technically savvy than him, but his communication skills have made the difference. He advises others they’ll get farther by parlaying both qualities.