From September 1922 Machinery magazine

Valley Electric Co. was in business in St Louis by 1919. In 1930 it was announced that they were relocating to Oklahoma City, Okla., but other than the announcement we can find no evidence of Valley Electric being in Oklahoma. In 1938 the company—still located in St. Louis—incorporated, becoming Valley Electric Corp. The company was still in business in 1942 but we have no further data on them.

Edwin Ballman and Emil Doerr founded Baldor Electric Co. in 1920 while Ballman was employed at Valley Electric.

Company address—1921: 4919-29 Connecticut St., St. Louis, MO; 1924: 3157 S. Kingshighway St. Louis, MO. 1929: 4515 Shaw Ave., St. Louis, MO; 1939: 4221 Forest Park Blvd., St. Louis, MO.

Information Sources

• A "1919" Chamber of Commerce publication Greater St. Louis, has a snippet of a photo caption: "New plant of the Valley Electric Company being erected on South Kingshighway at a cost of half a million dollars. This will add immeasurably to St. Louis' reputation for manufacture of electrical apparatus." This publication may date from the end of 1919 or early 1920 but Google Books' "snippet mode" makes it impossible to be certain.
• September 1920 Greater St. Louis.

  Valley Electric Company, Delaware, $525,000.00: employed in Missouri, $235,210.00; Herbert Elder, principal Missouri agent, 4015 Lacledge Ave., St. Louis; J. H. Brunigs, Atty., Arcade Bldg.

• A 1930 issue of The Iron Age.

  Valley Electric Corporation, 4221 Forest Park Boulevard, St. Louis, manufacturer of ball-bearing electric motors, has taken over building at 2121 Westwood Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Okla., and will remove to that location and increase capacity. Company has opened offices at 231 West First Street, Oklahoma City.

  A search for those addresses in association with "Valley Electric" did not turn up a single mention except for this mention in The Iron Age. A search on "Valley Electric" in Oklahoma also did not turn up any evidence that this announced move actually happened.
• Thanks to Reuben Deumling for alerting us to this maker via a discussion on owwm.org.
• In a discussion on owwm.org, Jeff Smith mentioned that Valley Electric was an OEM motor supplier to Powermatic.
• Information on years of operation came from a search on Google Books.
• A correspondent reports "a stock certificate for Valley Electric Corporation, Incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware dated April 7, 1938."