Beaird-Poulan has established a
solid reputation by building the
highest quality products available.
Pictured at left is (a) Model 2400,
Poulan’s first saw. It was Claude
Poulan’sinvention, the bow guide,
and required two men to operate it:
(b) the Model A was Poulan’s first
one-man saw; (c) the B100 was
Poulan’sfirst chain saw; (d) the
F100 featured Reduction Drive;
(e) the K100 was powerful enough
for the professional but was the first
practical saw for the casual user;
(f) the Poulan MicroXXV chain saw
sold for well under $100 and contin-
ued revolutionizing the industry, and
(g) the Model 3400, Poulan’snew
mid-priced chain saw has many fea-
tures of the professional saws.
In1944, with World War II at its height,
ayoung Louisiana lumberman, Claude
Poulan made a discovery which would
eventually lead to the founding of a major
American company, and the expansion
and growth of a worldwide industry. As
Poulan supervised German prisoners of
war cutting down pulpwood trees in the
lush forests of East Texas, he noted that an
extra man was required to operate two-
man chain saws,. The third man used a
pry pole to keep the chain from pinching
or binding as it cut through the trees.
Realizing the need for a device to elimi-
nate the extra man, Poulan took an old
truck fender,hammered out a piece of it
into a curved attachment which he called a
bow guide. This simple innovation was
the first step toward the founding of the
company which still bears his name today:
Beaird-Poulan.
When the war ended, Poulan moved to
the small town of Alto, Texas, where he
continued to produce bow attachments for
major chain saw manufacturers including
Mall, Disston and others. In 1946, Poulan
moved his business to Marshall, Texas.
After several months of operating in Mar-
shall, Poulan took $4,000 and, using rent-
ed equipment, moved to a tiny 20 by 20
foot shed in Shreveport, Louisiana, where
he formally established the Poulan Chain
Saw Company.Using engines purchased
from Homelite, he began producing the
first Poulan Chain Saw, the Model 2400.
Although Homelite was not in the saw
business, they quickly became aware of
this new industry’spotential and entered
the market Poulan, however, was able to
negotiate for the tool rights and began
producing his own engine components for
the Model 2400 two-man chain saw.
James M. Conly, Jr. joined Poulan in
1948 as chief accountant and office man-
ager of the budding new company.
Throughout the company’s history, Mr.
Conly has played a key role in its devel-
opment. Also joining the Poulan firm in
1948 was Ernest Garrett, whose
