Katrina survivor wins oldest motor contest

ControlDesign.com
02/08/2006

A TEMPORARILY displaced New Orleans resident, who bought a 1927 oscillating spindle sander earlier in 2005 for $20 at a building-materials resale center, is the winner of Bodine Electric’s 100th Anniversary Oldest Motor Contest.

 

Martin Butirich took the prize in two of the contest’s categories. His entry was both the oldest Bodine product still doing its job, and the oldest Bodine product submitted.

Butirich received a check for $2,000 from Bodine, and requested that the Red Cross’ Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund receive the contest’s matching charitable donation.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans last year, Butirich was forced to evacuate his home and temporarily relocate to another state. He returned to New Orleans later in the year, and discovered that his sander still worked perfectly. “Bodine had some pretty slick engineers back in the day,” he surmised.

Still family owned, Bodine Electric is headquartered in Chicago, and offers more than 850 stock motors and gearmotors worldwide.