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The Poulan Super XXV Counter-
Vibe made the company an
innovator in the casual user
market
In February, 1973, James M. Conly, Jr.,
who had joined the Poulan brothers back
in 1948, became president of the company
succeeding Charles T. Beaird. A month lat-
er; Beaird, who was now chairman of the
firm, announced the acquisition of Beaird-
Poulan by Emerson Electric Co., St. Louis,
Missouri. Emerson, then a $764 million
manufacturing giant, traded stock for
Beaird-Poulan, and the company entered a
new and exciting phase in its develop-
ment.
“The new owner is one of the nation’s
largest and most dynamic business organi-
zations,” Beaird told the news media after
the acquisition was announced. “As a divi-
sion of Emerson Electric, we will receive
financial backing necessary to insure our
plans for growth, yet retain our individual
identity, management and employee
policies.”
Ownership of the company had just
changed hands, when the Poulan Model
XX was introduced. The new saw, which
astonished industry experts, came on the
market with a tremendous appeal to the
casual user. “This little jewel is to our
industry what the transistor was to the
electronics world,” commented Lindley,
now vice president of sales.
The Model XX also surprised the indus-
try by breaking the $100 price barrier, and
became the industry standard for light-
weight saws. But, Beaird-Poulan, innova-
tive throughout its history, refused to stop
here.
The following year, Beaird-Poulan pro-
duced the Super XXV Counter-Vibe Auto-
matic; a lightweight saw which reduced
vibration by 78 percent. Chief engineer
Tuggle explained the new XXV reduced
engine vibration through a counter-bal-
anced crankshaft and for vibration isola-
tors. The 12-pound saw was an instant hit
in the market, and could rip through an
eight-inch log in four seconds.
That same year the Shreveport plant
expanded to 250,000 square feet, and the
number of employees rose to almost 600
to meet the rising demand for Poulan’s
Beaird-Poulan becomes a
division of Emerson Electric