IBT co-founder Bonnie L. Cloud died October 5. She was 84.

She and the late Forrest L. Cloud started the company as Industrial Bearing and Transmission in 1949. Today, IBT is one of the country's largest distributors of power transmission products and services, ranking No. 41 in Industrial Distribution's 2006 Big 50 list.

According to a company statement, Bonnie Cloud, “helped establish the key principles that have shaped IBT throughout its entire history: treating people the right way and thinking innovatively about products and services.”

The statement went on to say that, “Bonnie Cloud was an astute and pioneering businesswoman, a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, a mentor and a true friend.”

Cloud is survived by her sister Iris Webb and her husband, Herschel; two sons, Forrest R. Cloud and his wife, Shannon, and IBT chairman and CEO Stephen R. Cloud and his wife, Barbara; six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.