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Beaird-Poulan, a tradition since 1946
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In 1944, with World War II at its height, Mall, Disston and others. In 1946, Poulan a young Louisiana lumberman, Claude moved his business to Marshall, Texas. Poulan made a discovery which would After several months of operating in Mar- eventually lead to the founding of a major shall, Poulan took $4,000 and, using rent- American company, and the expansion ed equipment, moved to a tiny 20 by 20 Beaird-Poulan has established a and growth of a worldwide industry. As foot shed in Shreveport, Louisi
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Claude Poulan and James Conly, Jr. were driving forces behind the development of Poulan chain saws. ignition parts purchased from an outside supplier. knowledge of assembly procedures and Also in 1951, Poulan introduced its first chain saw design, helped set up Poulan’s chain saw manufactured completely with- first plant producing complete chain saws. in the company, the Model 5200. This Poulan then brought his two brothers, Har- clearly established the company as a ry and Fletcher into the comp
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A time of development Through the mid-1950’s Poulan contin- In addition to establishing Poulan’s reputation for quality, the B100 led to ued to be an innovator in the chain saw dramatic growth in the company's two-step field. It was during this period that Poulan distributor/dealer sales system. recognized the evolution of “one-man” operation and introduced the Model A Poulan again influenced the market with the introduction of the F100 Reduction reduction drive saw. This model was Drive chain
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A time of development 1958 was also a year in which Poulan recognized the need for lighter weight saws. Poulan met this challenge with its Model K100, which was powerful enough for professional use and was the first prac- tical chain saw for the casual user. In April, 1959, Poulan brought the KD100, a direct drive companion to the K100, onto the With the need for a lightweight chain market. saw becoming apparent, Poulan intro- Thus, through its first 12 years of exis- duced the Model K100 which
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Charles Beaird The company gains a new leader In 1959, Louisiana industrialist, Charles Both were extremely sophisticated for the T. Beaird, who had been an executive with time and well-received in the marketplace. a Shreveport steel fabricating company, Beard, in realizing the need for a more sought new investment opportunities in the versatile and complete line of chain saws, Red River city. He found the Poulan Saw expanded the Poulan line to six models, Company a solid investment, and pur- r
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of lightweight magnesium chain saws. In 10 years, Charles Beaird had brought Models 360, 400 and 450 were introduced the company through 51 models of saw in the summer of 1965, and signaled a development and opened the market of turning point in Poulan’s history with a most of the world to the Louisiana built trend toward the manufacture of light- chain saw. The company still manufactur- weight but durable chain saws. ers its original saw attachment, the bow In 1966, Beaird-Poulan acquired the g
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Poulan as its first consumer marketing grew for Poulan. Poulan products found director. Lindley recognized the casual their way into hundreds of chain saw deal- chain saw user as a virtually untapped ers’ showcases, and were sold through market. His organizational skills and hardware stores, engine shops, lawn and knowledge of the consumer set Beaird- garden stores, farm equipment suppliers Poulan on a new era of growth. and rental outlets. The lightweight saw In 1971, Beaird-Poulan began this n
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Beaird-Poulan becomes a division of Emerson Electric In February, 1973, James M. Conly, Jr., market with a tremendous appeal to the who had joined the Poulan brothers back casual user. “This little jewel is to our in 1948, became president of the company industry what the transistor was to the succeeding Charles T. Beaird. A month lat- electronics world,” commented Lindley, er; Beaird, who was now chairman of the now vice president of sales. firm, announced the acquisition of Beaird- The Model X
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new line of consumer saws. Poulan Micro XXV, an nine-pound chain While the XXV and XX models reached saw selling for only $79.95. the 10-inch the casual user market, Poulan had not for- saw was the result of three years of gotten the professionals. The Poulan Mod- research and millions of dollars in els 4200, 5200 and 6000, all with the farm advanced manufacturing procedures. Said and logging industry. Of particular impor- Tuggle, “Poulan is able to offer more qual- tance was the Model 5200, whi
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where the new Micro XXV models are major market in the world. now made. The Plant was the company’s Because of Poulan’s innovative engi- first operation outside of Shreveport’s. It neering and aggressive marketing, it is one has now been expanded to over 200,000 of the largest chain saw manufacturers in square feet. the world and has experienced the greatest In 1978, Poulan introduced a new line growth of any chain saw manufacturer of grass and weed trimmers, further over the past 10 years. expa
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Beaird-Poulan Division Emerson Electric Company Shreveport, LA
