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SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

 

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.      )

 

Filed by the Registrant    [X]

 

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant    [_]

 

Check the appropriate box:

 

[_] Preliminary Proxy Statement

 

[_] Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14A-6(E)(2))

 

[X] Definitive Proxy Statement

 

[_] Definitive Additional Materials

 

[_] Soliciting Material Pursuant to Section 240.14a-11(c) or Section 240.14a-12

 

Donaldson Company, Inc.


(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

 

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

 

[X] No fee required

 

[_] Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(4) and 0-11.

 

 (1) Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

 

 (2) Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

 

 (3) Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (Set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):

 

 (4) Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

 

 (5) Total fee paid:

 

[_] Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

 

 [_] Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

 

 (1) Amount Previously Paid:

 

 (2) Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

 

 (3) Filing Party:

 

 (4) Date Filed:

 



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DONALDSON COMPANY, INC.

1400 West 94th Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55431-2370
www.donaldson.com


NOTICE OF 20062007 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

TIME: 
TIME:1:00 p.m. (CST) on Friday, November 17, 200616, 2007
PLACE:Donaldson Company, Inc. Corporate Offices, 1400Campus West 94th(new location) 2001 West 94th Street, Suite 103, Minneapolis, Minnesota.Minnesota 55431.
ITEMS OF BUSINESS:(1)(1)   To elect threefour directors;
 (2)To ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as Donaldson Company’s independent registered public accounting firm to audit the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal year 2007;ending July 31, 2008; and
 (3)To act on anytransact other business that properly comes before the meeting.
RECORD DATE:You may vote if you are a stockholder of record at the close of business on September 21, 2006.2007.
PROXY VOTING:It is important that your shares be represented and voted at the Annual Meeting. Please follow the instructions provided with your proxy card and promptly vote your proxy by telephone, internet or by signing and returning the enclosed proxy card. Your support is appreciated, and you are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting.
 PLEASE PROMPTLY VOTE YOUR PROXY TO SAVE US THE EXPENSE OF ADDITIONAL SOLICITATION.

By Order of the Board of Directors

Norman C. Linnell
By Order of the Board of Directors

Norman C. Linnell
Secretary

Dated: October 9, 2006


Secretary

Dated: October 5, 2007



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Proposals You are Asked to Vote on1
General Information about the Annual Meeting and Voting2
Security Ownership4
Item 1: Election of Directors6
Board Structure andCorporate Governance8
Director Compensation13
Audit Committee Report and Ratification of Auditors1215
Item 2: Ratification of the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm14
Total Return to Stockholders15
Executive Compensation16
Human ResourcesCompensation Committee Report on Executive Compensation1817
Pension BenefitsExecutive Compensation; Compensation Discussion and Analysis2017
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance22
Change-in-Control Arrangements22
Audit Committee CharterAppendix  A42













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DONALDSON COMPANY, INC.

1400 West 94th Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55431


PROXY STATEMENT
Mailing Date: October 9, 20065, 2007


PROPOSALS YOU ARE ASKED TO VOTE ON

Item No. 1
Election of Directors

         ThreeFour current directors, Jack W. Eugster,William M. Cook, Michael J. Hoffman, Willard D. Oberton and John F. Grundhofer, and Admiral Paul David Miller (Ret.),P. Wiehoff, are recommended for election to the Board of Directors at the annual meeting. Information on the nominees is provided on page 7. Directors are elected for a three-year term so that approximately one-third are elected at each annual meeting of stockholders.

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote FOR the election of each director nominee.

Item No. 2
Ratification of the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

         The Audit Committee has selected PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP”) as Donaldson Company’s independent registered accounting firm to audit the Company’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2007,2008, and is requesting ratification by the stockholders.

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote FOR the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as Donaldson Company’s independent registered accounting firm to audit the Company’s financial statements for fiscal year 2007.2008.



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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING AND VOTING

Q:Why did I receive this Proxy Statement?

A:Because the Board of Directors of Donaldson is soliciting proxies for use at the annual meeting to be held on November 17, 200616, 2007 and you are a Donaldson stockholder as of the close of business on the record date of September 21, 2006.2007. Only stockholders of record are entitled to vote at the annual meeting and the Board of Directors is soliciting your proxy to vote at the meeting. We had 80,772,45079,269,500 shares of common stock outstanding as of close of business on the record date. Each share entitles its holder to one vote, and there is no cumulative voting.

 This Proxy Statement summarizes the information you need to know to vote. We first mailed the Proxy Statement and proxy card to stockholders on or about October 9, 2006.5, 2007.

Q:What am I voting on and what does the Board recommend?

A:1.   The election of threefour directors; and

 2.The ratification of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2007.2008.

 THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR EACH OF THE DIRECTORS AND FOR THE RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM.

Q:How do I vote if I am a stockholder of record?

A:If you are a stockholder of record you may vote using any ONE of the methods set forth on your enclosed proxy card:

 1.VOTE BY PHONE TOLL FREE 1-800-690-6903 QUICK *** EASY *** IMMEDIATE

 2.VOTE BY INTERNET —http://www.proxyvote.com

 3.VOTE BYPROMPTLY MAILING YOUR PROXY CARD — COMPLETE AND SIGN

 4.VOTE BY CASTING YOUR VOTE IN PERSON AT THE MEETING

 If you participate in the Donaldson Dividend Reinvestment Program open to all stockholders and administered by the transfer agent, your shares in that program have been added to your other holdings and are included on your proxy card.

 If you participate in the Donaldson Employee Stock Purchase Program administered by the transfer agent, your shares in that program have been added to your other holdings and are included on your proxy card.

Q:How do I vote if I hold stock through a Donaldson employee benefit plan?

A:We have added the shares of common stock held by participants in Donaldson’s employee benefit plans to the participants’ other holdings shown on their proxy cards. Donaldson’s employee benefit plans are the Employee Stock Ownership Plan, the PAYSOP, and the Donaldson Company, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan (the “401(k) Plan”).

 If you hold stock through Donaldson’s employee benefit plans, voting your proxy using one of methods 1–3 above also serves as confidential voting instructions to the plan trustee, Fidelity Management Trust Company (“Fidelity”). Fidelity will vote your employee benefit plan shares as directed by you provided that your proxy vote isRECEIVED BY NOVEMBER 14, 200613, 2007.

 Fidelity also will vote the shares allocated to individual participant accounts for which it has not received instructions, as well as shares not so allocated, in the same proportion as the directed shares are voted.

Q:How do I vote if my shares are held in a brokerage account in my broker’s name (i.e., street name)?

A:If your shares are held in a brokerage account in your broker’s name (street name), you should follow the voting directions provided by your broker or nominee. If you do so, your broker or nominee will vote your shares as you have directed.


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Q:What does it mean if I receive more than one proxy card?

A:It means that you have multiple accounts with banks or stockbrokers or with the transfer agent. PLEASE VOTE ALL OF YOUR SHARES.

Q:What if I change my mind after I vote my shares?

A:You can revoke your proxy at any time before it is voted at the meeting by:

 1.Sending written notice of revocation to the Company Secretary;

 2.Submitting a properly signed proxy card with a later date;

 3.Voting by telephone or internet at a time following your prior telephone or internet vote; or

 4.Voting in person at the annual meeting.

Q:How are the votes counted?

A:For item (1), the election of directors, you may 1) vote for all of the nominees, 2) withhold your vote from all of the nominees or 3) withhold your vote from a specifically designated nominee. For item (2), the ratification of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm, you may vote (or abstain) by choosing For, Against or Abstain.

 If you abstain from item (2), your shares will be counted as present at the meeting for the purposes of determining a quorum, and they will be treated as shares not voted on the specific proposal.

 If you hold shares in street name and do not provide voting instructions to your broker, your broker will not vote your shares on any proposal where the broker does not have discretionary authority to vote. In such a situation, the shares will be considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum, but will not be considered to be represented at the meeting for purposes of calculating the vote with respect to the matter requiring discretionary authority. New York Stock Exchange Rules permit brokers discretionary authority to vote on items (1) and (2), if they do not receive instructions from the street name holder of the shares. As a result, if you do not vote your street name shares, your broker has authority to vote on your behalf.

 We use an independent inspector of elections, Automatic Data Processing, Inc,Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. which tabulates the votes received.

Q:What if I do not specify how I want my shares voted?

A:If you do not specify on your returned proxy card or through the telephone or internet prompts how you want to vote your shares, they will be voted FOR the election of all director nominees, and FOR the ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm.

Q:How many shares must be present to hold the meeting?

A:A quorum must be present for the meeting to be valid. This means that at least a majority of the shares outstanding as of the record date must be present. We will count you as present if you:

 1.Have properly voted your proxy by telephone, internet or mailing of the proxy card; or

 2.Are present and vote in person at the meeting.

Q:How many votes are needed to approve each item?

A:The vote of a plurality of the shares of common stock present or represented and entitled to vote at the meeting is required for election as a director. This means that, since stockholders will be electing threefour directors, the threefour nominees receiving the most votes will be elected. Ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm requires the affirmative vote of a majority of shares entitled to vote and represented at the meeting in person or by proxy.

Q:How will voting on any other business be conducted?

A:We do not know of any business to be considered at the 20062007 Annual Meeting of Stockholders other than the proposals described in this Proxy Statement. If any other business is properly presented at the annual meeting, your shares will be voted by the holders of the proxies in their discretion.


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meeting, the persons named in the form of proxy intend to vote the shares represented by such proxies in accordance with their best judgment.

Q:Who may attend the meeting?

A:All Donaldson stockholders of record as of the close of business on September 21, 20062007 may attend.

Q:Where do I find the voting results of the meeting?

A:We will publish the voting results in our Form 10-Q for the second quarter of fiscal 2007, which we will file2008 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Q:How do I submit a stockholder proposal?

A:If you wish to include a proposal in the Company’s Proxy Statement for its 20072008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, you must submit the proposal in writing so that it is received no later than June 11, 2007.7, 2008. Please send your proposal to the Company Secretary, Donaldson Company, Inc., MS 101, P.O. Box 1299, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1299.

 Under our bylaws, if you wish to nominate a director or bring other business before the stockholders at our 20072008 annual meeting without having your proposal included in our Proxy Statement:

 >»     You must notify the Company Secretary of Donaldson Company, Inc. in writing between July 20, 200719, 2008 and August 19, 2007.18, 2008.

 >»     Your notice must contain the specific information required in our bylaws. If you would like a copy of our bylaws, we will send you one without
       charge. Please write to the Company Secretary at the address shown above.

Q:Who pays for the cost of proxy preparation and solicitation?

A:Donaldson pays for the cost of proxy preparation and solicitation, including the reasonable charges and expenses of brokerage firms, banks or other nominees for forwarding proxy materials to street name holders. We have retained Morrow & Co., to assist in the solicitation of proxies for the annual meeting for a fee of approximately $6,000, plus associated costs and expenses. We are soliciting proxies primarily by mail. In addition, our directors, officers and regular employees may solicit proxies by email, telephone or facsimile or personally. These individuals will receive no additional compensation for their services other than their regular salaries.

SECURITY OWNERSHIP

Set forth below is information regarding persons known by the Company to own beneficially more than 5% of the outstanding Common Stock of the Company based on the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding on September 21, 2006:2007:

Name and Address
of Beneficial Owner (1)

Amount and Nature
of Beneficial Ownership

Percent
of Class

Name and Address
of Beneficial Owner (1)
 Amount and Nature
of Beneficial Ownership
 Percent
of Class
 
Neuberger Berman, Inc.
605 Third Ave.
New York, NY 10158
4,340,197(2) 5.4
Columbia Wanger Asset Management, L.P.
227 West Monroe Street
Suite 3000
Chicago, IL 60606
   4,456,600(2)   5.6 


(1)Fidelity Management Trust Company, as the trustee of the Company’s Retirement Savings Plan - 401(k) Profit Sharing and ESOP/PAYSOP Plan, held 7,632,3596,400,907 shares, or 9.5%8.1%, of the Company’s common stock as of September 21, 2006.2007. Fidelity disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares claiming that it holds the shares solely for the benefit of the employee participants, and that it does not have the power to vote or dispose of those shares except as directed by the employee participants. Fidelity’s business address is 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, MA, 02109.
(2)Neuberger Berman, Inc. is the parent holding company of Neuberger Berman, LLC and Neuberger Berman Management, Inc. and, through these 100% owned subsidiary entities, holds beneficial ownership of 4,340,197 shares. Neuberger Berman, LLC and Neuberger Berman Management, Inc. are deemed to be beneficial owners for purposes of Rule 13(d) since they both have shared power to make decisions


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whether to retain or dispose and vote the securities. Neuberger Berman, Neuberger, LLC, and Neuberger Berman Management, Inc. serve as sub-advisor and investment manager, respectively, of Neuberger Berman’s various Mutual Funds. TheBased on information regarding Neuberger Berman, Inc. and its subsidiaries is based solely onprovided in a Schedule 13G filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Neuberger Berman, Inc. with respecton January 12, 2007, Columbia Wanger Asset Management, L.P., an investment advisor, reported that it has sole power to dispose of or direct the disposition of 4,456,600 shares, held assole power to vote or direct the vote of February 24, 2005.4,256,000 shares and shared power to vote or direct the vote of 200,000 shares.


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The following table shows information regarding the beneficial ownership of the Company’s common stock and information concerning deferred restricted stock units, deferred share units under stock option exercises and phantom stock units, as of September 21, 2006,2007, by each director, each of the Named Executive Officers (as identified on page 16)26) and all executive officers and directors of the Company as a group. The definition of beneficial ownership includes (i) shares over which a person has sole or shared voting power, or sole or shared power to invest or dispose of the shares, whether or not a person has any economic interest in the shares,shares; (ii) deferred stock units that have vested and also includesbeen deferred, as to which the beneficial owner has no voting or investment power; and (iii) shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of September 21, 2006.2007. Except as otherwise indicated, the named beneficial owner has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares held by such beneficial owner.

Name of Beneficial OwnerName of Beneficial Owner Total
Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership
of Common
Shares (1)(2)(3)
 Percent of
Common
Shares (3)
 Deferred
Stock
Units (3)
 Exercisable
Options
Included in
Total Amount
Column
 Name of Beneficial Owner Total
Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership
of Common
Shares (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)
 Percent of
Common
Shares
 Deferred
Stock
Units
Included in
Total Amount
Column (3)
 Exercisable
Options
Included in
Total Amount
Column
 











William M. Cook   688,995   *   141,912   515,519    909,401   1.1   199,172   521,087 
James R. Giertz 338,655 * 51,559 99,987 
Thomas R. VerHage 100,519 * 28,278 52,000 
Lowell F. Schwab 391,442 * 6,369 199,751  441,682 * 31,831 218,251 
Thomas R. VerHage 54,081 *  34,667 
Charles J. McMurray 130,515 * 5,063 79,500 
Geert Henk Touw 144,841 * 5,618 49,000  144,390 * 5,675 64,000 
Jack W. Eugster 108,324(4) *  65,600  105,781 *  55,374 
Janet M. Dolan 98,359(4) *  65,600  107,812 *  72,800 
F. Guillaume Bastiaens 81,228(4) *  65,600  88,824 *  72,800 
John F. Grundhofer 76,513(4)(5) *  30,526  77,754 *  28,800 
Jeffrey Noddle 57,002(4) *  43,200  66,552 *  50,400 
Paul D. Miller 43,897(4) *  36,000  52,278 *  43,200 
John P. Wiehoff 26,970(4) *  21,600  36,300 *  28,800 
Michael J. Hoffman 8,712(4) *  7,200  17,920 *  14,400 
Willard D. Oberton 1,000(4) *    8,835 *  7,200 
Directors and Officers as a Group 2,542,599 3.1 212,369 1,518,676 
Directors and Executive Officers as a Group 2,784,504 3.5 293,399 1,606,867 


*Less than 1%
(1)Includes all beneficially owned shares, including restricted shares, shares for non-employee directors held in trust, shares underlying the units listed under the Deferred Stock Units column and the shares underlying options exercisable within 60 days, as listed under the Exercisable Options column.
(2)Includes the following shares held in the ESOPEmployee Stock Ownership and Retirement Savings Plan trust: Cook, 38,22343,412 shares; Giertz 10,116VerHage, 397 shares; Schwab, 20,83921,379 shares; VerHage, 230McMurray, 20,851 shares; Touw, 48,85049,632 shares. Voting of shares held in the ESOP Trust is passed through to the participants. Also includes the following shares held in the 401(k)Employee Stock Ownership and Retirement Savings Plan trust: Cook, 4,392 shares; Giertz, 6,859 shares; Schwab, 0 shares; VerHage, 0 shares; Touw, 0 shares. Voting of shares held in the 401(k) Plan Trusttrust is passed through to the participants. Also includes the following shares held in the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan trust: Cook, 7,7479,804 shares; Giertz, 6,400VerHage, 1,844 shares; Schwab, 5,3485,893 shares; VerHage, 1,184McMurray, 1,058 shares; Touw, 2,9033,270 shares. Voting of shares held in the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan trust is passed through to the participants.
(3)The deferredDeferred stock units listed under the third column “Deferred Stock Units”that have vested and been deferred are not included in the beneficial ownership totals orand in the percent of ownership (columns 1 and 2) because these are not yet issued shares and there ishowever, the beneficial owner has no voting or investment power. The column “DeferredDeferred Stock Units”Units column includes phantom stock units allocated to employees earning in excess of the limits established by the Internal Revenue Code for the qualified Employee Stock Ownership Plan that distributed shares in trust for

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employees during the period from 1987 to 1996. ESOP phantom stock units are held by the Named Executive Officers in the following amounts: Cook, 5,298 units; Giertz, 0 units; Schwab, 6,3695,352 units; VerHage, 0 units; Schwab, 6,435 units; McMurray, 0 units; Touw, 5,6185,675 units; all directors and officers as a group, 18,86119,054 units.


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 The Deferred Stock Units column also includes deferred restricted stock units under the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan. Deferred restricted stock units are held by the Named Executive Officers in the following amounts: Cook, 24,94125,197 units; Giertz, 51,559VerHage, 0 units; Schwab, 0 units; VerHage,McMurray, 0 units; Touw, 0 units; all directors and officers as a group, 76,50025,197 units.
 The Deferred Stock Units column also includes deferred stock units under the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan for exercises of stock options where the executive has previously elected to defer the receipt of the underlying shares. Deferred stock option gain units are held by the Named Executive Officers in the following amounts: Cook, 47,11184,712 units; Giertz,VerHage, 0 units; Schwab, 0 units; VerHage,McMurray, 0 units; Touw, 0 units; all directors and officers as a group, 47,11184,712 units.
 The Deferred Stock Units column also includes deferred stock units under the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan for deferral of shares awarded under the long term compensation plan under the 1991 Master Stock Compensation Plan and 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan, where the executive has previously elected to defer the receipt of the underlying shares. Deferred stock units are held by the Named Executive Officers in the following amounts: Cook, 64,56283,911 units; Giertz, 0VerHage, 28,278 units; Schwab, 025,396 units; VerHage, 0McMurray, 5,063 units; Touw, 0 units; and all directors and officers as a group, 69,897164,436 units.
(4)Includes the following shares held in the non-employee director’s deferred stock account trust: Eugster, 21,87424,131 shares; Dolan, 19,90122,154 shares; Bastiaens, 6,3186,714 shares; Grundhofer, 17,85919,877 shares; Noddle, 12,37214,722 shares; Miller 7,4978,678 shares; Wiehoff, 5,1707,300 shares; Hoffman 1,512;3,520; and Oberton, 0635 shares. Voting of shares held in the deferred stock account trust is passed through to the participants.
(5)Includes 26,28827,237 shares held in a trust of which Mr. Grundhofer is a trustee and has shared voting and investment power.

ITEM 1: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

The bylaws of the Company provide that the Board of Directors shall consist of not less than three nor more than fifteen directors and that the number of directors may be fixed from time to time by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors. The Board of Directors has fixed the number of directors constituting the entire Board at ten. Vacancies and newly created directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office and the directors so chosen will hold office until the next election of the class for which such directors shall have been chosen and until their successors are elected and qualified. Directors are elected for a term of three years with positions staggered so that approximately one-third of the directors are elected at each annual meeting of the stockholders. The terms of Mr. Eugster,Cook, Mr. GrundhoferHoffman, Mr. Oberton and Mr. MillerWiehoff expire at the annual meeting.

The Board of Directors has no reason to believe that any nominees will be unavailable or unable to serve, but in the event any nominee is not a candidate at the meeting, the persons named in the enclosed proxy intend to vote in favor of the remaining nominees and such other person, if any, as they may determine.

The Board of Directors recommends that stockholders voteFOR the election of each director nominee.

The table on the following page sets forth additional information with respect to each nominee for election as a director and each other person whose term of office as a director will continue after the meeting.









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NOMINEES FOR ELECTION

Name Principal Occupation and Business Experience


Terms Expiring in 2006:2007:
   William M. Cook
      Age – 54
      Director since 2004
Chairman (2005), Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company since August 2004. Previously, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (2001-2004); Senior Vice President, International; and Senior Vice President, Commercial and Industrial (1996-2000).
   Michael J. Hoffman
      Age – 52
      Director since 2005
Chairman (2007), Chief Executive Officer (2005) and President (2004) of The Toro Company, a provider of outdoor maintenance and beautification products. Previously, Group Vice President (2001-2004); Vice President and General Manager (2000-2001).
   Willard D. Oberton
      Age – 49
      Director since 2007
Chief Executive Officer (2002) and President (2001) of Fastenal Company, an industrial and construction supplies company. Previously, Chief Operating Officer (1997-2002) and Executive Vice President (2000-2001).
   John P. Wiehoff
      Age – 46
      Director since 2003
Chairman (2007), Chief Executive Officer (2002) and President (1999) of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. transportation, logistics and sourcing company. Also a director of Polaris Industries, Inc.
NamePrincipal Occupation and Business Experience


Terms Expiring in 2008:
   F. Guillaume Bastiaens
      Age – 64
      Director since 1995
Vice Chairman (1998) of Cargill, Inc., a provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. Also a director of The Mosaic Company.
   Janet M. Dolan
      Age – 57
      Director since 1996
President of Act III Enterprises, a consulting firm. Retired Chief Executive Officer (1999-2005) and President (1998-2005) of Tennant Company, a manufacturer of indoor and outdoor cleaning solutions and specialty coatings. Also, a director of The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc.
   Jeffrey Noddle
      Age – 61
      Director since 2000
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of SUPERVALU INC., a food retailer and provider of distribution and logistics support services, since 2002. Previously, Chief Executive Officer and President of SUPERVALU from 2001 to 2002. Also a director of Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
NamePrincipal Occupation and Business Experience


Terms Expiring in 2009:
   Jack W. Eugster
      Age – 61
      Director since 1993
 Retired Non-Executive Chairman (2001–2005)(2001-2005) of Shopko Stores, Inc., a retail products company. Retired Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President (1986-2001) of Musicland Stores Corporation, a retail consumer products company. Also a director of Graco, Inc., and Black Hills Corporation, Golf Galaxy, Inc. and Trans-Alarm, Inc.Corporation.
   John F. Grundhofer
      Age – 6768
      Director since 1997
 Retired Chairman (1990-1997 and 1999-2002), Chief Executive Officer (1990-2001) and President (1990-1999 and 2000-2001) of U.S. Bancorp, a financial services provider. Also a director of Securian Financial Group, Inc. and BJ’s Restaurants, Inc.
   Admiral Paul David Miller
      Age – 6465
      Director since 2001
 Retired Chairman of ATK (Alliant Techsystems Inc.), an aerospace and defense company. Previously, Chairman (1999-2004) and Chief Executive Officer (1999-2003) and President of ATK (2000-2001). Prior to his retirement from the U.S. Navy following a 30-year career, Admiral Miller served as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander-Atlantic. Also a director of Teledyne Technologies, Inc. and UGS Corp.Incorporated.

DIRECTORS CONTINUING IN OFFICE

NamePrincipal Occupation and Business Experience


Terms Expiring in 2007:
      William M. Cook
            Age – 53
            Director since 2004
Chairman (2005), Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company since August 2004. Previously, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (2001-2004); Senior Vice President, International; and Senior Vice President, Commercial and Industrial (1996-2000).
      Michael J. Hoffman
            Age – 51
            Director since 2005
Chairman (2006), Chief Executive Officer (2005) and President (2004) of The Toro Company, a provider of outdoor maintenance and beautification products. Previously, Group Vice President (2001-2004); Vice President and General Manager (2000-2001).
      Willard D. Oberton
            Age – 48
            Director since 2006
Chief Executive Officer (2002) and President (2001) of Fastenal Company, an industrial and construction supplies company. Previously, Chief Operating Officer (1997-2002) and Executive Vice President (2000-2001).
      John P. Wiehoff
            Age – 45
            Director since 2003
Chairman (effective December 31, 2006), Chief Executive Officer (2002) and President (1999) of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. a transportation, logistics and sourcing company. Also a director of C.H. Robinson.

NamePrincipal Occupation and Business Experience


Terms Expiring in 2008:
      F. Guillaume Bastiaens
            Age – 63
            Director since 1995
Vice Chairman (1998) of Cargill, Inc., a provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. Also a director of The Mosaic Company.
      Janet M. Dolan
            Age – 56
            Director since 1996
Retired Chief Executive Officer (1999) and President (1998) of Tennant Company, a manufacturer of indoor and outdoor cleaning solutions and specialty coatings. Also, a director of The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc.
      Jeffrey Noddle
            Age – 60
            Director since 2000
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of SUPERVALU INC., a food retailer and provider of distribution and logistics support services, since 2002. Previously, Chief Executive Officer and President of SUPERVALU from 2001 to 2002. Also, a director of Ameriprise Financial, Inc.


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BOARD STRUCTURE ANDCORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Board Oversight and Director Independence


Donaldson’s Board believes that a primary responsibility of the Board of Directors is to provide effective governance over Donaldson’s business. The Board selects the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer and monitors the performance of senior management to whom it has delegated the conduct of the business. The Board has adopted a set of Corporate Governance Guidelines to assist in its governance, and the complete text of Donaldson’s Corporate Governance Guidelines is available on the Investor Relations page of our website at www.donaldson.com under Corporate Governance.

TheOur Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that a significant majority of our directors will be Non-employee Directorsnon-employee directors who meet the independence requirements of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). The listing standards of the NYSE require that a majority of our directors be independent, and that our Corporate Governance, Audit and Human Resources Committees be comprised entirely of independent directors.

The Board has established the following independence standards consistent with the current listing standards of the NYSE for determining independence:

A director will not be considered independent if, within the preceding three years:
°The director was an employee of Donaldson, or an immediate family member of the director was an executive officer of Donaldson;
°The director or an immediate family member of the director has received during any 12-month period more than $100,000 in direct compensation from us (other than director and committee fees and pension or other forms of deferred compensation for prior service to us);
°An executive officer of Donaldson was on the compensation committee of a company which, at the same time, employed the director or an immediate family member of the director as an executive officer; or
°The director was an executive officer or employee of, or an immediate family member of the director was an executive officer of, another company that does business with us and the annual revenue derived from that business by either company exceeds the greater of (i) $1,000,000 or (ii) 2% of the annual gross revenues of such company.
A director will not be considered independent if:
°The director or an immediate family member of the director has been affiliated with or employed in a professional capacity by our independent registered public accounting firm within the past three years.

The Board has reviewed the transactions between each of our non-employee directors and the Company, including those companies where directors serve as an officer. Each of those transactions was significantly below the thresholds and all were in the ordinary course of business. Based on this review, the Board has determined that every director, with the exception of Mr. Cook who is an employee director, is independent under the ruleshas no material relationship with Donaldson, satisfies all of the NYSE.categorical standards of independence in our Board approved independence standards and is independent. The Board also has determined that every member of its Corporate Governance, Audit and Human Resources Committees is an independent director. In making the independence determinations, the Board reviewed all of the directors’ relationships with the Company based primarily on a review of the responses of the directors to questions regarding employment, business, familial, compensation and other relationships with the Company and its management.

Policy and Procedures Regarding Transactions with Related Persons
         Our Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the Corporate Governance Committee, has adopted a written Related Person Transaction Policy. This policy delegates to our Audit Committee responsibility for reviewing, approving or ratifying transactions with certain “related persons” that are required to be disclosed under the rules of the SEC. Under the policy, a “related person” includes any of the directors or executive officers of the Company, certain stockholders and members of their immediate family.



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Our Related Person Transaction Policy applies to transactions that involve a related person where we are a participant and the related person has a material direct or indirect interest. Certain types of transactions have been evaluated and preapproved by the Board under the policy:

Any transaction in the ordinary course of business in which the aggregate amount involved will not exceed $100,000;
Any transaction where the related person’s interest arises solely from being a shareholder and all shareholders receive the same benefit on a pro rata basis;
Any transaction with another company at which a related person’s only relationship is as an employee, director or beneficial owner of less than 10% of that company’s shares, if the aggregate amount involved does not exceed the greater of (i) $500,000 or (ii) 1% of that company’s or Donaldson’s total annual revenues.

Meetings and Committees of the Board of Directors

There were six meetings of the Board of Directors in 2006.2007. Each director attended at least 75% of the aggregate of all meetings of the Board and its committees on which she or he served during the year. It also is our policy that directors are expected to attend our annual stockholder meetings. All individuals then serving as directors attended last year’s annual meeting of stockholders, with the exception of two directors.

The Board of Directors has three committees:

 Audit Committee
 Human Resources Committee
 Corporate Governance Committee

Each of the Board committees has a written charter, approved by the Board, establishing the authority and responsibilities of the committee. Each committee’s charter is posted on the Investor Relations page of our website at www.donaldson.com under the “Corporate Governance” caption and is available in print to stockholders who mail a request to the Company Secretary, Donaldson Company, Inc., MS 101, P.O. Box 1299, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1299 or call 952-887-3631. The following tables provide a summary of each committee’s key areas of oversight, the number of meetings of each committee during the last fiscal year and the names of the directors currently serving on each committee.













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Audit Committee

Responsibilities
 Number of Meetings in 2006:2007: 8
  • Appoints and replaces the independent registered public accounting firm, and oversees the work of the independent auditor.
Directors who serve on the committee:
Jack W. Eugster, Chair
Janet M. Dolan
  • Pre-approves all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by the independent auditor, including related fees.
  • Michael J. Hoffman
    Paul David Miller
    Jeffrey Noddle
  • Reviews with management and the independent auditor our annual audited financial statements and recommends to the Board whether the audited financial statements should be included in Donaldson’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.
  • John P. Wiehoff
  • Reviews with management and the independent auditor our quarterly financial statements and the associated earnings news releases.
  • Reviews with management and the independent auditor significant reporting issues and judgments relating to the preparation of our financial statements, including internal controls.
  • Reviews with the independent auditor our critical accounting policies and practices and major issues regarding accounting principles.
  • Reviews the appointment, performance and replacement of the senior internal audit executive and reviews the CEO and CFO’s certification of internal controls and disclosure controls.
  • Reviews Donaldson’s compliance programs and procedures for the receipt, retention and handling of complaints regarding accounting, internal controls and auditing matters.
  •  
    Directors who serve on the committee: Jack W. Eugster, Chair
    Janet M. Dolan
    Michael J. Hoffman
    Paul David Miller
    Jeffrey Noddle
    John P. Wiehoff

    Human Resources Committee

    Responsibilities
     Number of meetings in 2006: 2
    2007: 3
    • Reviews and approves the CEO’s compensation, leads an annual evaluation of the CEO’s performance and determines the CEO’s compensation based on this evaluation.
    Directors who serve on the committee:
    Jeffrey Noddle, Chair
    F. Guillaume Bastiaens
  • Reviews and approves executive compensation plans and all equity-based plans.
  • Jack W. Eugster
    John F. Grundhofer
  • Reviews and approves incentive compensation goals and performance measurements applicable to our executive officers.
  • Reviews and recommends the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in the Company’s Proxy Statement and Form 10-K.
  •  Directors who serve on the committee: Jeffrey Noddle, Chair
    F. Guillaume Bastiaens
    Jack W. Eugster
    John F. Grundhofer
    John P. Wiehoff


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    Corporate Governance Committee

    Responsibilities
     Number of meetings in 2006:2007: 2
    • Reviews and establishes the process for the selection of director candidates and director qualification standards.
    Directors who serve on the committee:
    John F. Grundhofer, Chair
    F. Guillaume Bastiaens
  • Reviews and establishes the process for the consideration of director candidates recommended by stockholders and recommendrecommends candidates for election to the Board.
  • Janet M. Dolan
    Paul David Miller
    Willard D. Oberton
  • Reviews and recommends the size and composition of the Board.
  • John P. Wiehoff
  • Reviews and recommends the size, composition and responsibilities of all Board committees.
  • Reviews and recommends policies and procedures to enhance the effectiveness of the Board, including those in the Corporate Governance Guidelines.
  • Oversees the annual Board’s self-evaluation process.
  • Reviews and recommends to the Board the compensation paid to the independent, non-employee directors.
  •  Directors who serve on the committee: John F. Grundhofer, Chair
    F. Guillaume Bastiaens
    Janet M. Dolan
    Michael J. Hoffman
    Paul David Miller
    Willard D. Oberton

    Corporate Governance Guidelines
             As indicated above, ourOur Board has adopted a set of Corporate Governance Guidelines to assist it in carrying out its oversight responsibilities. These guidelines address a broad range of topics, including director qualifications, director nomination processes, term limits, Board and committee structure and process, Board evaluations, director education, CEO evaluation, management succession planning and conflicts of interest. The complete text of the guidelines is available on the Investor Relations page of our website at www.donaldson.com under the Corporate Governance caption and is available in print to stockholders who mail a request to the Company Secretary, Donaldson Company, Inc., MS 101, P.O. Box 1299, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1299 or call 952-887-3631.

    Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
             All of our directors and employees, including our chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief accounting officer and other senior executives, are required to comply with our code of business conduct and ethics to help ensure that our business is conducted in accordance with the highest standards of legal and ethical behavior. Employees are required to bring any violations and suspected violations of the code to Donaldson’s attention through management, Donaldson’s Compliance Committee or Donaldson’s legal counsel, or by using our confidential compliance Hotline.hotline.

    The full text of our code of business conduct and ethics is posted on the Investor Relations page of our website at www.donaldson.com under Corporate Governance and is available in print to stockholders who mail a request to the Company Secretary, Donaldson Company, Inc., MS 101, P.O. Box 1299, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1299 or call 952-887-3631.

    Board Composition and Qualifications
             Our Corporate Governance Committee oversees the process for identifying and evaluating candidates for the Board of Directors. Directors should possess the highest personal and professional ethics, integrity and values, and be committed to representing the long-term interests of the stockholders. General and specific guidelines for director selection and qualification standards are detailed in the Corporate Governance Guidelines. The Corporate Governance Committee will consider nominations from stockholders under these standards if the nominations are timely received as described in this proxy statement.

    Director Selection Process
             The bylaws of the Company provide that the Board of Directors shall consist of not less than three nor more than fifteen directors and that the number of directors may be fixed from time to time by the affirming


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    vote of a majority of the directors. The Board of Directors has fixed the number of directors constituting the



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    entire Board at ten. Vacancies and newly created directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office and the directors so chosen will hold office until the next election of the class for which such directors shall have been chosen and until their successors are elected and qualified. Directors are elected for a term of three years with positions staggered so that approximately one-third of the directors are elected at each annual meeting of the stockholders. Based on advice from the Corporate Governance Committee, each year the Board will recommend a slate of directors to be presented for election at the annual meeting of stockholders.

    The Corporate Governance Committee will consider candidates submitted by members of the Board, executives and our stockholders, and the Committee will review such candidates in accordance with our bylaws, Corporate Governance Guidelines and applicable legal and regulatory requirements. The Corporate Governance Committee’s process includes the consideration of the qualities listed in the Corporate Governance Guidelines, including that Directors should possess the highest personal and professional ethics, integrity and values and be committed to representing the long-term interests of the shareholders. In recommending candidates for nomination by the Board as a Director of Donaldson, the Corporate Governance Committee will consider appropriate criteria including current or recent experience as a Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer or other senior executive officer; business expertise and diversity; and general criteria such as independence, ethical standards, a proven record of accomplishment, and the ability to provide valuable perspectives and meaningful oversight. Candidates nominatedrecommended by stockholders are evaluated in accordance with the same criteria and using the same procedures as candidates submitted by Board members or the chief executive officer.

    Our bylaws provide that if a stockholder proposes to nominate a candidate at the annual meeting of stockholders, the stockholder must give written notice of the nomination to our Corporate Secretary in compliance with the applicable deadline for submitting stockholder proposals for the applicable annual meeting. The stockholder must attend the meeting in person or by proxy. The stockholder’s notice must set forth as to each nominee all information relating to the person whom the stockholder proposes to nominate that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for election of directors in an election contest, or is otherwise required, in each case pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended thereunder (including such person’s written consent to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected). No stockholders submitted director nominations in connection with this year’s meeting.

    Independent Director Executive Sessions and Evaluations
             The Chair of our Corporate Governance Committee, John F. Grundhofer, currently is designated to preside over all meetings or executive sessions of the independent directors. Our independent directors meet in executive session without management present at each Board meeting. Likewise, all Board committees regularly meet in executive session without management. The Board and each Committee conducted an evaluation of its performance in fiscal 2007.

    Communications with Directors
             The Donaldson Company Compliance Hotline is in place for our employees and others to direct their concerns to the Audit Committee, including on a confidential and anonymous basis, regarding accounting, internal accounting controls and auditing matters.

    In addition, we have adopted procedures for our stockholders, employees and other interested parties to communicate with the independent members of the Board of Directors. You should communicate by writing to the Chair of the Audit Committee, the Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee or the independent directors as a group in the care of the office of the Company Secretary, Donaldson Company, Inc., MS 101, P.O. Box 1299, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1299.

    Written communications about accounting, internal accounting controls and auditing matters should be addressed to the Chair of the Audit Committee. Please indicate if you would like your communication to be kept confidential from management. The procedures for communication with the Board of Directors also are posted on the Investor Relations page of our website at www.donaldson.com under Corporate Governance.



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    Audit Committee Expertise; Complaint-Handling Procedures
             In addition to meeting the independence requirements of the NYSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), all members of the Audit Committee have been determined by the Board to meet the financial literacy requirements of the NYSE’s listing standards. The Board also has designated John P. Wiehoff as the “audit committee financial expert” as defined by SEC regulations.

    In accordance with federal law, the Audit Committee has adopted procedures governing the receipt, retention and handling of complaints regarding accounting and auditing matters. These procedures include a means for employees to submit concerns on a confidential and anonymous basis, through Donaldson’s compliance hotline.


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    TableDIRECTOR COMPENSATION

    Annual compensation for our non-employee directors is designed to attract and retain highly qualified non-employee directors and to provide equity based compensation in order to tie director compensation to our shareholders’ interests. Directors are subject to a stock ownership requirement to own shares equal to five times their annual retainer within five years of Contentstheir election as a director. Non-employee director compensation is comprised of annual retainers, meeting fees and an annual stock option grant.

    Our Corporate Governance Committee assists the Board of Directors in providing oversight on director compensation. The Committee oversees, reviews and reports to the Board on director compensation. The Corporate Governance Committee annually reviews competitive market data for non-employee director compensation and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors for its approval. The Committee is assisted in performing its duties by our Human Resources Department, and when needed, outside executive compensation consultants. The Committee has engaged Towers Perrin to conduct a review of the director compensation program in the fall of 2007.

    During the annual review of director compensation, the Committee reviews competitive market data from a peer group which currently is drawn from public companies with corporate headquarters in Minnesota that have annual revenues greater than Donaldson’s. The components of non-employee director compensation are described in the following sections.

    Director CompensationAnnual Retainer
             Directors whoNon-employee directors receive an annual retainer of $38,000. Thirty percent of the annual retainer is automatically deferred into a deferred stock account. The number of shares of stock deferred is equal to the amount of the retainer deferred divided by the stock price on the date of the retainer payment, which is January 1st. The remainder of the retainer is paid in cash unless the director elects, prior to the year the retainer is paid, to defer all or a portion of the remaining retainer into the Donaldson Company, Inc. Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors.

    The Audit Committee Chair receives an annual retainer of $10,000. The Human Resources Committee Chair receives an annual retainer of $8,500 (increased from $7,500 effective January 1, 2008) and the Corporate Governance Committee Chair receives an annual retainer of $7,500. These retainers are not employeesalso paid in cash unless the director elects to defer all or a portion of the retainer into the Donaldson Company, Inc. Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors.

    Meeting Fees
             Non-employee directors receive a retainer fee of $38,000 annually and are paid $2,500 for each Board meeting attended. Members of the Audit Committee members receive $1,500 for each committeeAudit Committee meeting attended and the members of the Human Resources Committee and Corporate Governance and Human Resources CommitteesCommittee receive $1,000 for each committee meeting attended. Non-employee directors can elect to receive the fees in cash, deferred cash or deferred stock.

    Stock Options
    The Audit Committee Chair receivesCompany’s Non-Qualified Stock Option Program for Non-Employee Directors provides an additional annual retainergrant of $10,000, and the other Committee Chairs receive an additional annual retainera non-qualified stock option of $7,500. Pursuant7,200 shares of Common Stock to our Compensation Plan for Non-employee Directors, anyeach non-employee director may elect, prior to each year of their term, to defer all or part of his or her director compensation received during the upcoming year. Each participating directorwho is entitled to a Company credit on the balance in his or her deferral account at the ten-year Treasury Bond rate plus 2%. The deferral election must also specify the manner for distributionmember of the deferral balance.

            Non-employee Directors are creditedBoard on January 1 of each calendaryear. The annual grant date in Fiscal 2007 was December 1, 2006 and has been changed to a January 1 annual grant date starting in 2008. The grant price is the closing



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    stock price on the date of grant. The options are fully vested at the date of grant and have a ten year term. The option awards granted from 1998 through 2004 include a “reload option” that has the same features as the reload options granted to executive officers. The reload grant features are described in the Compensation and Discussion Analysis section under the Stock Option description.

    Deferred Compensation
             The Company sponsors the Donaldson Company, Inc. Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors, a non-qualified deferred compensation plan. The Plan permits the Directors to elect to receive their annual retainers and meeting fees in one or more of the following methods:

    In cash on a current basis;
    In cash on a deferred basis (deferred cash account); or
    In Company stock on a deferred basis (deferred stock account).

    Any amount deferred into a deferred cash account will be credited with sharesinterest at a rate equal to the ten-year treasury bills rate plus two percent.

    The amounts deferred into a deferred stock account in lieu of 30% ofwill be credited with any quarterly dividends paid on the annual retainer for services as a director to be rendered in the following service year. Directors are allowed to elect to receive a credit of shares to a deferred stock account in lieu of all or part of the remaining retainer and meeting fees. The directors also receive a credit for dividend reinvestment shares.Company’s Common Stock. The Company contributes shares in an amount equal to the deferred stock accounts to a trust and the trust purchases shares of Donaldson Common Stock. Eacha director is entitled to direct the trustee to vote all shares allocated to the director’s account in the trust.account. The Common Stock will be distributed to each director following the director’s retirement from the Board pursuant to the director’s deferral payment election. The trust assets remain subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors. The trust becomescreditors, and become irrevocable in the event of a “Change in Control” as defined under the 1991 Master Stock Compensation Plan and the 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan.

    The Company’s Non-Qualified Stock Option ProgramFiscal 2007 compensation for Non-employee Directors provides for the automatic grant of a non-qualified stock option for 7,200 shares of Common Stock to eachour non-employee director of the Company whodirectors is a member of the Board on January 1 each year. The exercise price of such options is the closing price of Common Stock on January 1shown in the respective year. The options are fully vested and have a termfollowing table.

    DIRECTOR COMPENSATION TABLE

    Name  Fees Earned
    or Paid
    in Cash
    (1)($)
      Stock
    Awards
    (2)($)
      Option
    Awards
    (3)($)
      Non-qualified
    Deferred
    Compensation
    Earnings
    (4)($)
      All Other
    Compensation
    (5)($)
      Total ($) 







    F. Guillaume Bastiaens    45,600   10,448   79,348      3,208   138,604 
    Janet M. Dolan       67,847   79,348      1,749   148,944 
    Jack W. Eugster    12,000   67,502   79,348   965   4,626   164,441 
    John F. Grundhofer       58,872   79,348      662   138,882 
    Michael J. Hoffman       65,834   79,348         145,182 
    Paul David Miller    31,500   34,842   79,348         145,690 
    Jeffrey Noddle       72,399   79,348         151,747 
    Willard D. Oberton    39,167   14,062   79,348         132,577 
    John P. Wiehoff       68,843   79,348         148,191 


    (1)These directors elected to receive cash for all or a portion of the 70% of the annual retainer, the additional retainer for directors who chair a Board committee and the meeting fees paid to non-employee directors, all of which are payable in cash or in a deferred stock award. Mr. Eugster elected to defer the receipt of his $12,000 cash earned for Committee retainer fees. The deferral is to be credited with a fixed rate of return equal to the ten-year Treasury Bond rate plus 2%.
    (2)This column represents the compensation costs for financial reporting purposes under FAS123(R) of deferred stock awards granted to non-employee directors during the fiscal year under the Company’s 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan. The Fiscal 2007 deferred stock awards for our non-employee directors were made on January 1, 2007, the grant date established by the Board of Directors. The valuation for those awards was the closing market price of the stock on the date of the award. This column includes the 30% of the annual retainer that is payable only in a deferred stock award. It also includes the additional amounts of the retainers and meeting fees that each director elected to receive in a deferred stock award. The following directors elected to receive all of their fees in deferred stock awards: Dolan,


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    Table of ten years. The option award was modified from 1998 through 2004 to include a “reload option” granted at the time of exercise of the original option for the number of shares equal to the shares used in payment of the purchase price.Contents

            Shares credited to deferred stock accounts to non-employee directors in fiscal 2006, were as follows: Bastiaens, 404 shares; Dolan, 2,138 shares; Eugster, 2,171 shares; Grundhofer, 1,956 shares; Hoffman 1,508 shares; Miller, 1,213 shares; Noddle, 2,096 shares; Oberton, 0 shares; and Wiehoff, 1,888 shares.

    Grundhofer, Hoffman, Noddle and Wiehoff. The following directors hold deferred stock awards that are vested and will be paid out at the deferral election date made by the director: Bastiaens (6,714 units); Dolan (22,154 units); Eugster (24,131 units); Grundhofer (19,877 units); Hoffman (3,520 units); Miller (8,678 units); Noddle (14,722 units); Oberton (635 units); Wiehoff (7,300 units).
    (3)This column represents the compensation costs for financial reporting purposes under FAS123(R) of stock option awards granted to non-employee directors during the fiscal year under the Company’s 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan. This represents the SFAS 123(R) Fair Market Value of these awards which were determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model as detailed in Footnote H to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for Fiscal 2007. The Fiscal 2007 stock option awards for our non-employee directors were made on December 1, 2006, the grant date previously established by the Board of Directors. The grant price for those options was the closing market price of the stock on that date. Mr. Eugster elected to transfer 4,000 of his total 7,200 award to members of his immediate family.
    (4)Includes interest earnings on deferred cash compensation and dividend equivalents earned in deferred stock accounts.
    (5)This column represents the dollar amount of dividends paid on previously granted restricted stock awards last made to non-employee directors in 1997. The following directors hold restricted stock that vests upon normal retirement from the Board, subject to the approval of the Board: Bastiaens (8,910 shares), Dolan (4,858 shares), Eugster (12,850 shares), and Grundhofer (1,840 shares).

    AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT AND RATIFICATION OF AUDITORS

    Audit Committee Report
             The following is the report of the Audit Committee with respect to Donaldson’s audited financial statements presented in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006. The information contained in this Audit Committee Report shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that Donaldson specifically incorporates it by reference in such filing.2007.

    The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is composed entirely of independent, non-employee directors, all of whom have been determined by the Board to be independent under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, the Board has determined that John P. Wiehoff is an audit committee financial expert, as defined by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    The Audit Committee acts under a written charter approved by the Board of Directors. A copy of the Audit Committee Charter is attached as Appendix A to this proxy statement. The Audit Committee assists the Board in carrying out its oversight of the Company’s financial reporting process, audit process and internal controls. The Audit Committee formally met eight times during the past fiscal year in carrying out its oversight functions. The Audit Committee has the sole authority to appoint, terminate or replace the Company’s


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    independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm reports directly to the Audit Committee.

    The Audit Committee reviewed and discussed Donaldson’s 20062007 audited financial statements with management, the internal auditor and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also met separately with the internal auditor and the independent registered public accounting firm to discuss and review those financial statements and reports prior to issuance. Management has represented and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has confirmed in its opinion to the Audit Committee that the financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and fairly present, in all material respects, the financial condition of Donaldson.

    The Audit Committee also received from, and discussed with, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP the written disclosures and the letter required by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1, Independence Discussions with Audit Committees. These items relate to PwCPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP independence from Donaldson. The Committee also reviewed and considered under its pre-approval policy, the compatibility of the independent registered public accounting firm’s performance of non-audit services with the maintenance of its independence as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also discussed with PwCPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP the matters required to be discussed by Statement on



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    Auditing Standards No. 61, Communications with Audit Committees, which includes, among other items, matters related to the conduct of the audit of Donaldson’s financial statements.

    Based on the review and discussions with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited financial statements be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006.2007.

    Members of the Audit Committee
    Jack W. Eugster, Chair
    Janet M. Dolan
    Michael J. Hoffman
    Paul David Miller
    Jeffrey Noddle
    John P. Wiehoff

    Information Regarding the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

    Independent Auditors Fees
             The aggregate fees billed to the Company for fiscal years 2007 and 2006 and 2005 by PwC,PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, are as follows:

     Fiscal 2007 Fiscal 2006 
    Fiscal 2006
    Fiscal 2005


    Audit Fees  $2,324,044 $2,568,535   $2,217,396  $2,324,044 
    Audit-Related Fees 2,167 155,258  6,700 2,167 
    Tax Fees 270,573 91,422  174,228 270,573 
    All Other Fees 1,500 1,500  2,250 1,500 




    Total Fees $2,598,284 $2,816,715  $2,400,574 $2,598,284 

    Audit Fees for fiscal 20062007 and fiscal 20052006 include professional services rendered in connection with the audit of the Company’s financial statements, including the quarterly reviews, statutory audits of certain of the Company’s international subsidiaries and the audit of internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Fiscal 2007 and 2006 Audit-Related Fees include accounting advisory fees related to financial accounting matters. Fiscal 2005 Audit-Related Fees include professional services rendered for benefit plan audits, due diligence and acquisition related work. Tax Fees include professional services for tax returns, advice and planning. All Other Fees include a license fee for technical materials.

    Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
             The Audit Committee pre-approves all audit and permitted non-audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms for those services. The Audit Committee may


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    delegate to one or more designated committee members the authority to grant pre-approvals. This designated member is the Chair of the Audit Committee. Any pre-approval by the Chair must be presented to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting. All of the services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm during fiscal 20062007 and fiscal 2005,2006, including services related to the Audit Fees, Audit-Related Fees, Tax Fees and All Other Fees described above, were approved by the Audit Committee under its pre-approval policies.

    ITEM 2: RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF
    INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

    The Audit Committee has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as Donaldson Company’s independent registered public accounting firm to audit the books and accounts of the Company for the fiscal year ending July 31, 2007. PwC2008. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has audited the books and accounts of the Company since 2002. While the Company is not required to do so, it is submitting the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP to serve as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending July 31, 20072008 for ratification in order to ascertain the views of the Company’s stockholders on this appointment. Even if the appointment is ratified, the Audit Committee, which is solely responsible for appointing and terminating our independent auditor, may in its discretion, direct the appointment of a different independent auditor at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in the best interests of the Company



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    and its stockholders. Representatives of PwCPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP are expected to be present at the meeting with the opportunity to make a statement and to respond to appropriate questions. In the event this appointment is not ratified, the Audit Committee will reconsider its selection.

    The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors recommends that stockholders voteFOR ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending July 31, 2007.















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    TOTAL RETURN TO STOCKHOLDERS

    The following graphs compare the cumulative total stockholder return on the Company’s Common Stock for the last five fiscal years and seventeen fiscal years with the cumulative total return of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index and the Standard & Poor’s Index of Industrial Machinery Companies. The graph and table assume the investment of $100 in each of Donaldson’s Common Stock and the specified indexes at the beginning of the applicable period, and assume the reinvestment of all dividends. The second graph shows the total return over our Company’s seventeen-year period of increases in earnings per share.

    COMPARISON OFFIVE-YEARCUMULATIVETOTALRETURN*


      2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 






    Donaldson Co., Inc.   $100.00  $109.79  $161.21  $177.47  $218.78  $223.04 
    S&P 500    100.00   76.37   84.50   95.63   109.07   114.94 
    S&P Industrial Machinery    100.00   100.54   117.95   152.90   165.69   173.52 


    *$100 invested on 7/31/01 in stock or index — including reinvestment of dividends. Fiscal year ending July 31.

    COMPARISON OFSIXTEEN-YEARCUMULATIVETOTALRETURN*

    FISCALYEARSENDEDJULY31

      1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997 









    Donaldson Co., Inc.   $100.00  $181.43  $210.15  $275.35  $341.93  $456.67  $504.55  $469.91  $786.11 
    S&P 500    100.00   106.50   120.09   135.45   147.27   154.87   195.31   227.67   346.37 
    S&P Industrial Machinery    100.00   103.72   112.35   131.16   157.35   178.76   244.07   253.61   397.03 

      1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 









    Donaldson Co., Inc.   $722.40  $976.72  $764.63  $1,241.46  $1,362.95  $2,001.35  $2,203.27  $2,716.05  $2,768.89 
    S&P 500    413.16   496.64   541.21   463.66   354.10   391.79   443.40   505.71   532.93 
    S&P Industrial Machinery    389.55   526.66   434.40   480.87   483.91   568.26   738.57   800.97   846.76 


    *$100 invested on 7/31/89 in stock or index — including reinvestment of dividends. Fiscal year ending July 31.


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    EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

    The following table includes information for each person who was, at the end of fiscal 2006, the Chief Executive Officer or one of the other four most highly compensated executive officers of the Company (the “Named Officers”) on the basis of total annual salary and bonus for the last completed fiscal year. The table includes compensation information for each of the last three fiscal years.

    SUMMARYCOMPENSATIONTABLE

            Long Term Compensation    

        Annual Compensation (1)  Awards  Payouts    



    Name and Principal Position  Fiscal
    Year
      Salary ($)  Bonus ($)  Restricted
    Stock
    Award(s)
    ($) (2)
      Securities
    Underlying
    Options (#) (3)
      LTIP Payouts
    ($) (4)
      All Other
    Compensation
    ($) (5)
     








    William M. Cook    2006   593,270   1,000,000   0   53,000   692,925   63,941 
         Chairman, Chief Executive
         Officer and President
        2005   525,135   586,520   0   75,514   522,132   44,700 
     2004   302,596   233,750   0   113,416   507,238   23,480 
     
    James R. Giertz (6)    2006   314,059   325,080   0   20,000   397,967   22,224 
         Former Senior Vice President,
         Commercial and Industrial
        2005   304,192   203,834   0   21,500   222,152   22,025 
     2004   295,020   192,676   400,350   38,000   158,760   16,826 
     
    Lowell F. Schwab    2006   314,059   324,467   0   20,000   548,657   16,074 
         Senior Vice President,
         Engine Systems and Parts
        2005   300,385   240,979   0   83,603   431,961   22,569 
     2004   286,039   220,806   0   96,148   305,760   19,039 
     
    Thomas R. VerHage (7)    2006   295,820   283,746   0   9,000   0   28,149 
         Vice President and Chief
         Financial Officer
        2005   273,077   213,498   0   9,000   0   17,914 
     2004   95,192   62,816   507,690   25,000   0   3,503 
     
    Geert Henk Touw    2006   254,905   207,467   0   16,000   457,523   16,781 
         Senior Vice President,
         Asia Pacific
        2005   236,500   151,000   0   18,000   343,966   15,197 
     2004   220,039   134,168   0   15,000   393,680   12,695 


    (1)Includes any portion of salary and bonus deferred under the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan.
    (2)Amounts in the Restricted Stock Award column represent the dollar value on the grant date of grants of restricted stock under the Company’s 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan. Regular dividends are paid on the restricted shares. At the end of fiscal 2006, the number and value of the aggregate restricted stock holdings for the Named Officers that vest in less than three years were: Cook, 0 shares, $0; Giertz, 15,000 shares, $488,550; Schwab, 0 shares, $0; VerHage, 18,000 shares, $586,260; and Touw, 0 shares, $0. Giertz surrendered 50,000 shares of restricted stock in 2001 and received 49,275 deferred restricted share units. The balance of Giertz’s deferred restricted share units at the end of fiscal 2006, including dividend equivalent rights earned, was 51,439 shares valued at $1,675,360. Cook surrendered 25,000 shares of restricted stock in 2005 and received 24,638 deferred restricted share units. The balance of Cook’s deferred restricted share units at the end of fiscal 2006, including dividend equivalent rights earned, was 24,883 shares valued at $810,437. One additional restricted stock award of 3,000 shares was made in fiscal 2006 to Sandra Joppa, and is subject to a five-year vesting schedule.
    (3)The stock option grants include new fiscal 2006 annual grants. No reload grants resulting from the exercise in fiscal 2006 of option awards granted in prior years were awarded in fiscal 2006.
    (4)Earned under the Company’s 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan during the three-year period ending in the fiscal year in which the payout is listed. Payout is made in the form of the Company’s Common Stock and delivered or deferred into the Company’s Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan during the following fiscal year.


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    (5)Amounts in this column represent the dollar value of share allocations (i) under the Company’s match for bonus and salary under the Company’s ESOP and 401(k) benefit plans; and (ii) under the Company’s match (both the fixed match and the discretionary variable match) for deferred bonus and salary and salary in excess of the limits established by Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code contributed by the Company to an unqualified supplemental plan; and (iii) also includes amounts for the dollar value of the interest accrued that is above the market interest rates determined under SEC rules for compensation deferred under the Company’s Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan. The interest rate for the Company’s deferred compensation plans is set by the Human Resources Committee at the ten-year Treasury Bond rate plus 2%.

    Name  Salary and
    Bonus Match
      Deferred Salary
    and Bonus Match
      Excess Match  Discretionary
    Match
      Above Market
    Interest
     






    William M. Cook   $7,712  $11,730  $26,661  $4,633  $13,205 
    James R. Giertz    8,642   0   12,073   1,509   0 
    Lowell F. Schwab    8,800   441   5,212   1,594   27 
    Thomas R. VerHage    2,914   16,770   0   2,155   6,310 
    Geert Henk Touw    8,279   0   7,557   945   0 


    (6)James Giertz resigned as an officer of the Company effective September 15, 2006, resulting in the forfeiture of the 15,000 shares of restricted stock granted in fiscal 2004.
    (7)Thomas VerHage was appointed as an officer of the Company effective March 1, 2004.

    OPTIONGRANTS INLASTFISCALYEAR

     Individual Grants (1)
       Potential Realizable Value
    at Assumed Annual
    Rates of Stock Price
    Appreciation for
    Option Term (3)

     
    Name
     Number of
    Securities
    Underlying
    Options/SARs
    Granted (2)

     % of Total
    Options/SARs
    Granted to
    Employees
    in Fiscal Year

     Exercise
    Price ($/sh)

     Expiration
    Date

     
     5%  ($)
     10%  ($)
     
    William M. Cook    53,000   15.5   32.80   12/16/15   1,093,270   2,770,562 
    James R. Giertz    20,000   5.9   32.80   12/16/15   412,555   1,045,495 
    Lowell F. Schwab    20,000   5.9   32.80   12/16/15   412,555   1,045,495 
    Thomas R. VerHage    9,000   2.6   32.80   12/16/15   185,650   470,473 
    Geert Henk Touw    16,000   4.7   32.80   12/16/15   330,044   836,396 


    (1)No stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) have been granted. Total shares used to calculate the total options percentages do not include options to purchase 57,600 shares of Common Stock granted to the Company’s non-employee directors.
    (2)All officer grants (other than the option granted to Sandra Joppa noted in the following sentence) during the period were non-qualified stock options granted at the market value on date of grant for a term of ten years, vesting immediately and were granted with the right to use shares in lieu of cash to pay the exercise price and to satisfy any tax withholding obligations. Ms. Joppa received an option grant of 10,000 shares on November 1, 2005, that is the same in its terms as the officer grants described above, except that it vests in equal annual one-third increments starting on November 1, 2006.
    (3)These amounts represent certain assumed rates of appreciation over the full term of the option. The value ultimately realized, if any, will depend on the amount by which the market price of the Company’s Common Stock exceeds the exercise price on date of sale.


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    AGGREGATEDOPTIONEXERCISES INLASTFISCALYEAR
    ANDFISCALYEAR-ENDOPTIONVALUES

    Name  Shares
    Acquired on
    Exercise (#) (1) (2)
      Value
    Realized
    ($)
      Number of Securities
    Underlying Unexercised
    Options at Fiscal Year-End (#)
      Value of Unexercised
    In-the-Money Options
    at Fiscal Year-End ($)(3)
      


    Exercisable  Unexercisable  Exercisable  Unexercisable  







    William M. Cook    22,014   30,379   555,706   0   7,393,430   0 
    James R. Giertz    51,488   1,076,872   269,350   0   3,258,937   0 
    Lowell F. Schwab    39,360   645,110   232,615   0   812,731   0 
    Thomas R. VerHage    0   0   34,667   8,333   89,671   36,374 
    Geert Henk Touw    0   0   49,000   0   66,690   0 


    (1)The number of shares shown in this column is larger than the number of shares actually acquired on exercise. The actual number of shares received is reduced by the number of shares delivered in payment of the exercise price and shares withheld to cover withholding taxes.
    (2)No SARs were exercised in fiscal 2006.
    (3)This value is based on the difference between the exercise price of such options and the closing price of Company Common Stock as of fiscal year-end 2006.

    LONG-TERMINCENTIVEPLANS— AWARDS INLASTFISCALYEAR

    Name  Number of
    Shares, Units
    or Other
    Rights (#)(1)
      Performance
    or Other Period
    Until Maturation
    or Payout
      Estimated Future Payouts
    Under Non-Stock
    Price-Based Plan
      

    Threshold (#)  Target (#)  Maximum (#)  






    William M. Cook    14,800   8/1/05 – 7/31/08   3,700   14,800   40,700 
    James R. Giertz    6,200   8/1/05 – 7/31/08   1,550   6,200   17,050 
    Lowell F. Schwab    6,200   8/1/05 – 7/31/08   1,550   6,200   17,050 
    Thomas R. VerHage    5,800   8/1/05 – 7/31/08   1,450   5,800   15,950 
    Geert Henk Touw    4,200   8/1/05 – 7/31/08   1,050   4,200   11,550 


    (1)Awards are of performance shares of the Company’s Common Stock. Awards are earned only if the Company achieves the minimum performance objectives and the award value will be based on a weighting of compound corporate net sales growth and after-tax return on investment over the three year-period. The amounts shown in the table under the headings “Threshold,” “Target” and “Maximum” are amounts awarded at 25%, 100% and 275% of the targeted award. The award will also be adjusted upward by 25% if earnings per share increase in each of the three years in the period by at least 5%.

    HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE REPORT ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

    The Human Resources Committee of the Board of Directors consisting of four independent, non-employee directors (the “Committee”), is responsible for establishingDonaldson, acting in its capacity as the compensation programsCompensation Committee of the Company, has reviewed and discussed the following Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management and, based on such review and discussions, the Human Resources Committee recommended to the Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in our Proxy Statement and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Company’s key executives.fiscal year ended July 31, 2007.

    SUBMITTED BY THE HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE
    Jeffrey Noddle, Chair
    Bassy Bastiaens
    Jack Eugster
    Jack Grundhofer
    John Wiehoff

    EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
    COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

    Executive Compensation Philosophy
             The Company’s executivefinancial objective is to create long term shareholder value through superior share price appreciation and consistent earnings growth. The compensation program comprises base salary, annual incentivefor our executives is designed and long term incentive compensation. regularly reviewed to ensure that it is closely tied to that objective and to our shareholders’ interests.

    The key principles of our compensation strategy include:

    Aligning our compensation to financial measures that balance both annual results and long-term strategic decisions
    Emphasizing pay outcomes and Company performance by placing a significant portion of pay at risk
    Targeting total compensation by comparison to proxy disclosure data for our peer group as recommended by a consultant
    Providing significant amounts of equity-based compensation in order to tie our executive compensation program to our shareholders’ interests
    Requiring significant stock ownership by our executive officers

    The key objectives of the Company’sour executive compensation program are to:

     emphasize a pay-for-performance philosophy by placing significant portionsAlign the interests of pay at risk and requiring outstanding results for payment atour executives with the threshold level;long term interests of our shareholders
     Provide competitive pay which enables us to attract, rewardretain and retain the best executives available in our industry taking into consideration all aspects of performance and ethicalmotivate top leadership with their compensation levels keyed to a peer group of companies;talent
     motivateFocus leadership attention on delivering business unit and reward executives responsible for attaining the financial and strategic objectives essential to the Company’s long-term success focusing on earnings per share growth and continued growth in stockholder value; andoverall Company performance
    Increase shareholder value

    Our Compensation Review Process
             Our Human Resources Committee (“Committee”) assists the Board of Directors in providing oversight on executive compensation. The Committee is comprised of five independent non-employee directors who meet the independence and qualification requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange and applicable law.



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    align

    The Committee oversees, reviews and reports to the interestsBoard on executive compensation plans, as well as leadership development and succession planning. The Committee is responsible for:

    Reviewing, approving and administering the executive compensation, incentive compensation and equity-based plans
    Reviewing corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer’s (“CEO”) compensation and evaluating the CEO’s performance
    Determining the compensation programs, compensation levels and benefits for the CEO and the other executive officers of the Company
    Conducting the annual performance review of the Company’s CEO
    Reviewing the Company’s leadership development and succession planning process

    The Human Resources Committee holds three meetings each year.

    The Committee is assisted in performing its duties by our Human Resources Department, the CEO, and when needed, outside executive compensation consultants. Our current practice is to engage an outside executive compensation consultant to conduct a complete review of executives with thoseour executive compensation program every three years. In the other years, the analysis is completed by the Human Resources Department. During 2004, an executive compensation consultant from Towers Perrin was engaged to perform a complete review of the Company’s stockholders by providingour executive compensation program and to conduct a significant portionbenchmarking analysis. The Committee has engaged Towers Perrin to conduct a similar review and benchmarking analysis of our executive compensation program in the formfall of Company Common Stock. Common Stock ownership objectives have been established for all executive officers at a high level, ranging from five times base salary for Vice Presidents, seven times base salary for Senior Vice Presidents and ten times base salary for the Chief Executive Officer.


    2007.

    Base Salaries.   Base salaries for all executives are reviewed annually based on performance and market conditions. A performance appraisal taking into consideration predetermined performance objectives is required for all executives of the Company. The Committee approves and/or determinesDuring the annual base salary increases for all senior executive officers based on performancereview of each of the executive and externalofficer’s compensation, the Committee reviews competitive market data. The Company’s objective is that base salaries should approximate the mid-point (average)data from a peer group which currently consists of senior executives of manufacturing40 companies ofin similar size in the United States. The Company uses surveys by national consultants for external market data. Executives are eligible to defer up to 75% of their base compensation under the Company’s Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan.

    Annual Cash Incentive.   Executive officers are eligible for target awards under the annual cash incentive plan that rangeindustries with comparable revenues. This peer group was established with input from 40% to 80% of base salary. The size of the target award is determined by the executive officer’s position and competitive data for similar positions withinTowers Perrin. For 2007, the peer group consisted of the following 40 companies:

    Actuant Corporation
    AMETEK, Inc.
    Arctic Cat Inc.
    Bemis Company, Inc.
    Blyth, Inc.
    BorgWarner, Inc.
    Briggs & Stratton Corporation
    Carlisle Companies, Inc.
    CLARCOR Inc.
    Crane Company
    Federal Signal Corporation
    H B Fuller Company
    Gentek Inc.
    Graco Inc.
    Harsco Corporation
    Hubbell Inc.
    IDEX Corporation
    Kennametal Inc.
    Milacron Inc.
    Millipore Corporation
    Modine Manufacturing Co.
    Nordson Corporation
    Pall Corporation
    Pentair, Inc.
    Polaris Industries, Inc.
    Precision Castparts Corporation
    Regal-Beloit Corporation
    Sequa Corporation
    Snap-On Inc.
    Standard Motor Products, Inc.
    Standex International Corporation
    Stewart & Stevenson LLC.
    Teleflex, Inc.
    Tennant Company
    Teradyne Inc.
    Thomas & Betts Corporation
    Toro Company
    Wabash National Corporation
    Watts Water Technologies, Inc.
    Winnebago Industries, Inc.

    Published surveys and cross-industry companies as presented in the same nationally recognized surveys asmarket data from this peer group are used to target base salary, incentives, and total compensation for our executives. Base salary is targeted at the base salary. The Company sets performance goals in keeping with the strong performance-based philosophy, the resulting awards increase or decrease substantially if actual Company performance exceeds or fails to meet targeted levels. Payments can range from 0% to 200%50th percentile of the target award amounts. Executive officers annual cash incentive opportunity is linked to achieving record earnings per share and to achieving sales, profits and return on investment targets for the Company and for their respective business units. Executives are eligible to defer up to 100% of their incentivepeer group with total compensation under the Company’s Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan.

    Long Term Incentive Stock Compensation Awards and Stock Option Grants.   There were payouts under the Long Term Compensation Plan in 2006, 2005 and 2004 as shown in the summary compensation table on page 16 because the Company achieved the performance objectives for three-year compounded growth in net sales and after-tax return on investment. The variance in the Long Term Compensation Plan award payouts are consistent with thetargeted at risk and pay for performance compensation philosophy. The Long Term Compensation Plan Award targets are based on three-year compounded growth in net sales and an after-tax return on investment that exceeds the Company’s weighted average cost of capital. Under this program, the Committee annually selects and approves eligible executives and establishes incentive opportunities as a percentage of base salary. In order for a participant to receive a payout, threshold performance must be achieved.

    The Committee also occasionally grants restricted stock with a fixed restriction period, usually three to five years, to ensure retention of key executives. The Committee also believes that stock option grants encourage the key executives to own and hold Donaldson stock and tie their long-term economic interests directly to those of the stockholders. Stock options are typically granted annually. In determining the number of shares covered by such options, the Committee takes into account position level, base salary, and other factors relevant to individual performance.

    Target awards for the incentive compensation are designed based on financial performance in the 60th to 65th percentile of the peer group. Executivesgroup, depending on performance. Tally sheets which include all forms of compensation for each of our Named Executive Officers were completed and reviewed by the Committee as part of the annual review process.

    The Committee also relies on advice from our CEO and our Vice President of Human Resources for determining compensation for our executive officers, other than the CEO.

    Cash Compensation
             Cash compensation consists of base salary and an annual cash incentive. Each year the CEO completes performance reviews for the Company’s executive officers. The CEO utilizes the performance information, as well as benchmark data, to determine base salary recommendations to the Committee for the Company’s



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    executive officers. The Committee discusses and finalizes base salaries for the other executive officers and approves the annual incentive plan.

    The Chairman of the Committee conducts the CEO’s annual performance review with input from the entire Board. The Committee utilizes performance information, as well as benchmark data to determine the CEO’s base salary and approve the annual incentive plan.

    Equity Compensation
             Equity compensation consists of stock options, long term compensation awards, and restricted stock. Our CEO presents equity grant recommendations to the Committee for our executive officers for our Long Term Compensation Plan, stock option grants and restricted stock (see the Executive Compensation Program Overview section for details on how these amounts are eligibledetermined). The Committee reviews and approves the awards to make electionsthe executive officers and determines and approves the CEO’s equity awards.

    At the December Committee meeting, the annual stock option grants for each of the executive officers are determined and approved by the Committee. The date of the grant is the date of the Committee meeting and the grant price is the closing share price on the date of the Committee meeting.

    Each year, the Committee also approves the total number of stock options available to grant to our non-officer employees. The Committee establishes a pre-determined future date of grant for our annual stock option grants made to non-officers and they set the grant price to be the closing price of the stock on that pre-established grant date. The Committee sets the aggregate amount of options available and the CEO uses these options to reward high performing employees. For 2007, the Committee approved a total of no more than 250,000 shares of common stock to be used for annual time stock options awards for non-officer employees.

    EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION PROGRAM OVERVIEW
             The primary components to our executive compensation program for Fiscal 2007 were:

    Base Salary
    Annual Cash Incentives
    Long Term Compensation Plan
    Stock Options
    Restricted Stock
    Benefits
    Perquisites
    Change in Control Agreements

    Base Salary
             The base salaries paid to our executives are designed to provide a market competitive level of compensation to each executive based on position, scope of responsibility, business and leadership experience, and performance. The Committee targets base salary at the 50th percentile of our peer group and reviews base salary annually. Prior to the beginning of each calendar year, executive officers may choose to defer up to 75% of their base salary into the Donaldson Company, Inc. Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan, which is discussed further under “Benefits.”

    Annual Cash Incentive
             The annual cash incentive award is designed to reward officers for their contributions toward the Company’s achievement of specific goals and to link the interests of our officers with the Company’s business and financial plans. The Committee believes this incentive compensation element focuses attention on business performance and provides a significant “at risk” variable component of our competitive total compensation package.



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    For Fiscal 2007, the target awards under the annual cash incentive plan were:

    80% of base salary for the CEO
    50% or 60% of base salary for the CFO and Senior Vice Presidents
    40% of base salary for Vice Presidents

    Predetermined performance goals are set and approved by the Committee each year. The annual cash incentive awards are calculated based on predetermined ranges for the achievement of the established performance measures. The goals reflect our strong performance-based philosophy. Payouts can range from 0% to 200% of the target award based on attainment of business unit and/or Company predetermined financial goals. The plan is designed so that the maximum is earned when the results exceed the Company’s goals by a predetermined amount.

    The annual cash incentive is designed to align our executive officers with our shareholder interests by having a significant portion of the incentive based on record earnings per share achievement. For Fiscal 2007, 95% of the CEO cash incentive and 50% of the other executive officer cash incentive is based on achievement of record earnings per share. The Committee approves the range of the payouts above the attainment of record earnings per share and these are reviewed annually by the Committee. For Fiscal 2007, the financial performance measures and the percentage of the incentive based on these measures were as follows:

    Performance Measure  CEO  Corporate
    Executives
      Business Unit
    Executives
     




    Earnings per Share    95%  50%  50%
    Net Sales       15%  10%
    Return on Investment       15%  15%
    Net Operating Profit       15%  20%
    Diversity in Management    5%  5%  5%

    Annual cash incentive awards for executive officers with corporate responsibility are based on overall Company financial results and annual cash incentive awards for executive officers with business unit responsibility are based on business unit results as well as overall Company results.

    The net sales performance measure is based on attaining a record amount of net sales. The range of payments above the attainment of record net sales is established and approved by the Committee. The return on investment performance measure target is established as a worldwide corporate return on investment target of 15%. As established by the Committee, some business units have a higher return on investment target. The net operating profit target measure is based on our annual planned net operating profit as established and approved by the Board of Directors. The diversity in advancemanagement performance measure target is based on pre-established percentage increase in the diversity of our management workforce (1.5 to 2.5% based on the executive’s current workforce).

    The overall annual cash incentive payment for Fiscal 2007 for each of our Named Executive Officers is set forth in the table below:

    Named Executive Officer  Target Payment
    as a % of
    Base Salary
      Target Award
    (Dollar Value)
      Actual Award
    (Dollar Value)
      Actual Award
    as a % of
    Base Salary
     





    William Cook    80% $560,000  $1,021,300   145.9%
    Thomas VerHage    60% $192,000  $327,348   102.3%
    Lowell Schwab    60% $196,800  $301,014   91.8%
    Geert Henk Touw    50% $133,500  $214,821   80.5%
    Charles McMurray    60% * $148,500  $238,845   88.5%


    *In September 2006, Mr. McMurray was promoted to Senior Vice President. The Committee approved increasing his annual target award from 40% of base salary to 60% of base salary effective November 1, 2006. His annual award was prorated with 25% of his award ($43,426) based on the 40% target and 75% of his award ($195,419) based on the 60% target.

    An adjustment relating to a one time accounting event in Japan was approved for one Named Executive Officer, Mr. Touw, that increased his cash incentive payment by $3,161. The adjustment added the $687,804



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    difference between the actual gain recorded in the financial statements for the conversion in Fiscal 2007 of our defined benefit pension plan in Japan to a defined contribution plan and the estimated gain that was included in our Fiscal 2007 plan. Because of these accounting uncertainties, it was determined prior to the beginning of Fiscal 2007 that we would adjust the calculation for Mr. Touw’s business unit results to reflect the difference between the actual gain recorded in the financial statements and the gain estimated in our plan. This adjustment was to be applied whether the difference was a favorable or unfavorable difference from our plan. The Committee approved this adjustment.

    Executive officers may choose to defer up to 100% of their long termannual cash incentive stock compensation awards, stock option grants upon exercise and restricted stock awards upon vesting underinto the Company’sDonaldson Company, Inc. Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan.

    Executive officers may elect to receive a stock option grant in lieu of the cash bonus. If the executive makes this election, he/she will receive a stock option grant equal to four times the annual cash incentive award divided by the stock price as of the date of the grant. The exercise price of the option is the stock price on the date of the grant. For Fiscal 2007, no executive officers selected this option.

    Long Term Compensation Plan
             The Long Term Compensation Plan measures performance over a three-year period. The award is paid out at the end of the three-year period based on the attainment of pre-established performance goals. A new three-year performance cycle is established each year.

    The purpose of our Long Term Compensation Plan is to provide a long-term incentive for our executive officers which will reward them for the Company’s achievement of predetermined levels of long-term performance. The award is paid out in Company stock and is consistent with the key objectives of our executive compensation program by:

    Aligning our executive officers with the long-term interests of our shareholders by providing compensation in the form of Company stock
    Emphasizing our pay for performance philosophy
    Focusing leadership attention on delivering both business unit and overall company performance

    The Committee approves each incentive cycle award, including the performance objectives, the award matrix and payout targets (the number of performance units) for each executive officer. The target number of performance units is based on a percentage (ranging from 40% to 80% depending on the executive officer’s position) of base salary divided by the twelve month weighted average stock price as of the end of the fiscal year in which the annual grant is made. The percentage varies by the executive officer’s position as follows:

    80% for the CEO
    50% or 60% for the CFO and Senior Vice Presidents
    40% for Vice Presidents

    The plan performance objectives are based on two metrics; compounded growth in net sales and after-tax return on investment. These targets are set by the Committee prior to the beginning of the three-year cycle. Awards for corporate executive officers are based on overall company growth in net sales and return on investment and awards for executive officers with business unit responsibility are based 50% on business unit results and 50% on overall Company results.

    The potential payouts under the plan range from 0% to 275% of the target shares based on the predetermined levels of achievement over the three-year period of net sales growth and return on investment. In addition, to continue to align our executive officers with our shareholders, if the annual earnings per share increase in the three-year period is at least 5% each year, then the payout is increased by 25%.



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    For the performance cycle that ended July 31, 2007, the target shares and the actual share payout for the Named Executive Officers were:

    Named Executive Officer  Target Shares  Actual Share Payout 



    William Cook    14,300   25,329 
    Thomas VerHage    5,400   28,694 
    Lowell Schwab    6,200   10,749 
    Geert Henk Touw    3,600   6,019 
    Charles McMurray    2,900   5,137 

    To compensate an officer new to the plan, the first award is increased by 200% because no payment is made for the first two years of the incentive cycle. This award payout was Mr. VerHage’s first award; his actual share payout prior to the increase for the first award was 9,565 shares.

    The award payout was adjusted to remove the impact of two accounting events which occurred after the performance objectives and targets were established by the Committee for this three year incentive period (Fiscal 2005 through Fiscal 2007). The award payout was adjusted to remove the $2.8 million pre-tax effect of stock option expensing under SFAS 123(R) for Fiscal 2006 and $3.4 million pre-tax effect of such expensing for Fiscal 2007. The award payout was also adjusted to remove the $4.0 million tax change related to the repatriation of foreign earnings under the American Jobs Creation Act for Fiscal 2005 and the $3.6 million tax change related to a similar repatriation for Fiscal 2006. The Committee approved these adjustments which are consistent with the Long Term Compensation Plan policy.

    An executive officer may elect to defer the Long Term Compensation Plan payout into the Donaldson Company, Inc. Deferred Stock Option GainCompensation and 401(k) Excess Plan.

    Stock Option Bonus Replacement Program.Options   To encourage
             The Committee makes annual stock ownershipoption awards to our executive officers. These awards are principally used to:

    Align our executives interests with our shareholders
    Attract and retain key executive talent

    Stock options have a ten-year term and the annual stock option grants for executive officers are immediately vested as of the date of the grant. The option price is the closing price on the date of the grant. The number of options granted annually is equal to a multiple of the officer’s base salary divided by executives, the Company allows executives to elect in advance to receive12 month weighted average stock optionsprice. The multiplier is based on level as follows:

    Three times base salary for the CEO
    Two times base salary for Senior Vice Presidents
    One times base salary for Vice Presidents

    Stock option grants are made under the 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan in lieuand all options are non-qualified stock options.

    Stock options that are granted to an executive officer within the first five years of being named an officer have a portion of allreload provision. This provision provides a new option grant to be established upon exercise of the cash compensation earnedoriginal grant. Reload stock options are automatically granted under the Officer Annual Cash Incentiveterms of the original stock option agreement to which they relate and no further action of the Committee is required. The reload stock option is granted for the number of shares tendered as payment for the exercise price and tax withholding obligation. The option price of the reload option is equal to the market price of the stock on the date of exercise and will expire on the same date as the original option which was exercised. The new option does not have a reload provision.

    Prior to the year that the option is granted, an executive officer may elect to defer the gain on a stock option upon exercise into the Donaldson Company, Inc. Deferred Stock Option Gain Plan. Currently under the program, participants receive

    Restricted Stock
             Restricted stock awards are granted to executive officers only in special circumstances. The Committee may grant a restricted stock award as part of hiring a new executive officer or as a retention vehicle for an option



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    executive officer. Restricted stock grants generally have a five year cliff vesting schedule. No restricted stock awards were granted during Fiscal 2007 to acquire $4 ofour Named Executive Officers. However, some restricted stock at market value for every $1 of compensation exchanged. In fiscal 2006, no executives participatedgrants made in previous years remain outstanding and are reflected in the program.Summary Compensation Table and the Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table. At the time the grant is awarded, an executive officer may elect to defer the restricted stock into the Donaldson Company, Inc. Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan.

    Stock Ownership.Ownership   Ownership of Donaldson stock is expected of Donaldson executives.
             The Committee believes that linking a significant portion of the executive’s current and potential net worthpersonal holdings to the Company’s


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    success, as reflected in the stock price, gives the executiveprovides officers a stake similar to the stockholders.that of our shareholders. Therefore, executive officers are expected to acquire and hold a significant amount of Donaldson stock. The Committee has established stock ownership guidelinesrequirements (based on all shares of Company stock owned by an executive officer, including unvested restricted stock) for the Named Officers and certain otherour executive officers which encourage retention of shares. The guidelines range from five to ten times base salary and, inas follows:

    Ten times base salary for our CEO
    Seven times base salary for Senior Vice Presidents
    Five times base salary for Vice Presidents

    In addition, require officers tomust retain one-quarter25% of the net shares acquiredthey receive through our plans from the Company in excess of their initial ownership target. New officers are expected to meet their ownership requirement within five years of being named an executive officer. All our executive officers who have been in officer roles at Donaldson for five years have met their ownership requirements.

    BENEFITS

    Retirement Plans and Deferred Compensation Plans
             Our executive officers are eligible to participate in the following retirement and deferred compensation plans:

    Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan
    Excess Pension Plan
    Employee Stock Ownership and Retirement Savings Plan
    Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan
    Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan
    Deferred Stock Option Gain Plan
    ESOP Restoration Plan

    These plans enhance the benefits provided to our executive officers and help us attract and retain top leadership talent.

    The goalSalaried Employees’ Pension Plan is a defined benefit pension plan which provides retirement benefits to eligible U.S. employees through a cash balance benefit. It is designed to meet the requirements of a qualified plan under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Participants in this plan accumulate benefits in a hypothetical account through company credits and interest credits. For more details on this plan, refer to the discussion with the Pension Benefits Table.

    TheExcess Pension Plan mirrors the Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan. This plan is a non-qualified, unfunded plan that provides retirement benefits that cannot be paid under the Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan because of the ChiefIRS limits on benefits and compensation for qualified plans.



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    TheEmployee Stock Ownership and Retirement Savings Plan (401(k) Plan) is a defined contribution plan designed to meet the requirements of a qualified plan under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code and provided to encourage our employees to save for retirement. Most of our U.S. employees, including our executive officers, are eligible to participate in this plan. The primary plan features are:

    Participants can contribute up to 25% of their total cash compensation
    Contributions are made on a pre-tax basis
    The Company matches 100% of the first 3% of compensation that a participant contributes plus 50% of the next 2% of compensation that a participant contributes
    An annual discretionary contribution may be made based on Company performance
    All Company contributions are made in Donaldson stock and can be immediately moved into other funds by our participants
    All contributions vest immediately

    TheDeferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan is a non-qualified defined contribution and a non-qualified deferred compensation plan that is funded through a non-qualified rabbi trust. The features of the 401(k) excess portion of this plan are the same as the 401(k) Plan and participants receive the same Company match as described above under the 401(k) Plan. This portion of the plan provides benefits that would have been provided under the 401(k) Plan except for the IRS limits placed on contributions to qualified 401(k) plans. Employees who reach that annual compensation limit for qualified plans are generally eligible to participate in this plan. That limit is $225,000 for 2007.

    This plan also allows our executive officers to defer the following compensation:

    Up to 75% of their base salary
    Up to 100% of their annual cash incentive
    Restricted stock grant
    Up to 100% of Long Term Compensation Plan awards

    Any deferred cash (base salary and annual cash incentive) will receive a matching company contribution as described under the 401(k) Plan above.

    TheSupplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) is a non-qualified, unfunded retirement plan for our executive officers. The SERP assures the participants a lump sum retirement benefit from all Company funded retirement programs (including any retirement benefits from a previous employer) equal to 30% of the participant’s average compensation (average of the three highest consecutive years) multiplied by the participant’s years of service (maximum of 20 years).  To determine if any portion of this benefit would be payable under the SERP, all Company provided retirement benefits from the Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan, the Excess Pension Plan, the Employee Stock Ownership and Retirement Savings Plan and the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan, plus any retirement benefits that are provided from a previous employer will offset the formula described above.  To date, no retired participant has received a benefit under the SERP.  Normal retirement benefits are payable under the SERP at age 62 with ten years of service.  A reduced early retirement benefit is payable at age 55 with fifteen years of service.  Based on hiring terms, Mr. VerHage, our CFO, is eligible for the SERP benefit after five years of service.  The amount of his benefit is determined according to the plan (a reduced benefit will be payable if he retires prior to age 62 after five years of service). 

    The Deferred Stock Option Gain Plan allows our executive officers to make an irrevocable election prior to the year a stock option grant is awarded to defer any gain on that stock option when it is exercised.

    TheESOP Restoration Plan is a non-qualified supplemental deferred compensation plan which was established by the Company on August 1, 1990 and is funded through a non-qualified “rabbi” trust. This plan provided benefits that were not payable under the Company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan due to IRS limits on compensation. The Employee Stock Ownership Plan actively ran from August 1987 through July



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    1997. The only new contributions made to this plan are for any quarterly dividend equivalents. These quarterly dividend equivalents are based on dividends paid on the Company’s Common Stock.

    For more details on these plans, refer to the discussion with the Pension Table and the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Table.

    Health and Welfare Benefits
             As part of supporting our practice of providing competitive compensation and benefits to all our employees, the Company provides a number of health and welfare benefit plans for our employees and their families. We provide the following benefits to most of our salaried U.S. employees, including all of our executive officers, on the same terms and conditions of all such employees:

    Medical
    Dental
    Vision
    Short term and long term disability
    Life insurance
    Flexible spending accounts
    Vacation and holidays

    Where applicable, these plans are qualified plans under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.

    Perquisites
             The Company provides our executive officers with perquisites that the Committee has approved as consistent with our overall compensation program and which assists us in attracting and retaining highly talented executives. The perquisites currently offered to all executive officers are:

    Annual reimbursement for financial planning, legal, or tax services up to the following amounts:
    °    $8,000 for our CEO
    °    $6,000 for our Senior Vice Presidents
    °    $5,000 for our Vice Presidents
    A leased car with a fair market value of up to $38,760. The company pays all vehicle operation expenses
    An annual executive physical (having an approximate value of $5,000)
    A social country club membership for our CEO with a value of $1,952 for Fiscal 2007

    Change in Control Agreements
             The Company has entered into a Change in Control Agreement (“CIC Agreement”) with each of our executive officers. Other than the CIC Agreements, we do not have any employment contracts with our Named Executive Officers. The Committee believes that our CIC Agreements assist us in retaining our executive leadership. The CIC Agreements are also designed to enable our executive officers to maintain objectivity in the event of a change in control situation, which the Committee believes will protect the interests of our shareholders. The Committee reviews these CIC Agreements periodically to verify that they are competitive in the market. The Committee’s review of these agreements will be done with the assistance of an executive compensation consultant in the fall of 2007. The Company also expects to make changes to these agreements due to tax law changes.

    Upon a change in control, if the executive officer’s employment with the Company is terminated:

    Within 24 months of the change in control without “cause,”
    Within 24 months of the change in control, or under certain circumstances a potential change in control, by the executive officer for “good reason,” or


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    For any reason during the one month period commencing on the first anniversary of the change in control,

    The CIC Agreements require the Company to pay or provide the following to the executive officer:

    A lump sum equal to three times the sum of the executive officer’s base salary plus the executive officer’s target cash incentive from the annual plan then in effect
    Thirty-six months of additional coverage under our medical, dental, vision, life, accident, and disability plans
    A cash lump sum equal to:

    °  The value of the benefit under each pension plan assuming the benefit is fully vested and the executive had three additional years of benefit accrual;
                 less

    °  The value of the vested benefit accrued under the Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan, the Excess Pension Plan, and the Supplemental Executive
                 Retirement Plan

    A payment to reimburse the executive officer for any excise taxes on change in control payments that are considered excess parachute payments under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code plus income and employment taxes on the tax gross up
    Outplacement services, suitable to the executive’s position, for up to three years

    Under the Company’s non-qualified deferred compensation plans and the excess plans described above, the payment to the executive officer of their vested benefit is accelerated to be payable in the form of a lump sum immediately following change in control followed by a qualifying termination.

    Named Executive Officer is ten timesCompensation
             The performance evaluation and determination of the base salary, annual base salary.incentive and equity compensation for our CEO, Mr. Cook, exceeded this ownership goalfor 2007 was determined as described above in fiscal 2006.

    the “Our Compensation of the Chief Executive Officer.    Mr. Cook’s fiscal 2006 base salary and incentive award opportunity were determined by the Committee in accordance with the evaluation process and the methodology described above. The Committee considered Mr. Cook’s performance against pre-established objectives and met both in private and with Mr. Cook in completing his performance appraisal and setting his compensation and objectives.

    Base Salary.Review Process” section. Effective January 1, 2007, Mr. Cook’s base salary earnings for fiscal 2006 were $593,270, which is at the lower endincreased to $700,000; an increase of the range of the market mid-point for manufacturing companies of similar size.12% over 2006. This brings Mr. Cook’s base salary to slightly over the 50th percentile of the 2006 proxy data for our peer group and it was increased byjust below the Committee following its annual performance evaluation to $625,000 effective January 1, 2006.

    Annual Incentive.median of the peer group. This change was based on Mr. Cook’s incentive award for fiscal 2006performance and was $1,000,000. This annual incentive wasconsistent with the median of the benchmark data.

    Mr. Cook earned under thean annual cash incentive planfor Fiscal 2007 of $1,021,300, which will be paid in October, 2007. This amount was calculated as described above under the Annual Cash Incentive. Mr. Cook’s annual cash incentive was based on an increase in Earnings per Share from $1.55 for Fiscal 2006 to $1.83 for Fiscal 2007; which is an 18% increase in Earnings per Share. This equated to a payout of 178.13% of the Company achieving performance objectivesTarget award. The diversity in management goal paid out at 4.25% of the target. Mr. Cook’s total payout was 182.38% of the target award.

    Mr. Cook received a Long Term Compensation Plan award of 25,329 shares. This award was determined as described above under Long Term Compensation Plan and was earned at 141.7% of the target plus the 25% increase for earningearnings per share growth. This award was earned based on a compound net sales growth for the three year period of 10.8% and an average return on investment over the previous record earned in fiscal 2005.three year period of 16.6%.

    Stock Options.Mr. Cook received an annual stock option grant inon December 2005 to purchase 53,000 shares5, 2006 of stock.

    Long Term Compensation Plan Payout.    Mr. Cook received54,500 shares. This option grant is 100% vested and has a payout of 18,770 shares often-year term. The option price was $35.10, which was the closing stock under the Long Term Compensation Plan in 2006 basedprice on the Company’s achievinggrant date of December 5, 2006. The amount of the option grant was determined as described above in the “Stock Options” section.

    The performance objectives for three-year compounded growthevaluation and determination of the other Named Executive Officer’s base salary, annual incentives and equity compensation was determined as described above in net sales“Our Compensation Review Process” section. Each of the other Named Executive Officers is paid the same components of compensation as the CEO and after-tax return on investment.they are determined as described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis.

    Policy on Qualifying Compensation.Tax Considerations   The Company’s policy is to preserve the tax deduction for compensation paid to its Chief Executive Officer and other senior executive officers. In accordance with this policy, in November 2005, the stockholders approved the Company’s Qualified Performance-Based Compensation Plan established under the 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan.
             The Committee approvesmonitors any changes in regulations when reviewing the performance goals for paymentvarious elements of our executive compensation program. Section 162(m) of the cash incentiveInternal Revenue Code provides that compensation



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    in excess of $1 million paid for any year to a corporation’s chief executive officer and share awards under The Long Term Compensation Plan annually.the three other highest paid executive officers (other than the chief financial officer) at the end of such year, will not be deductible for federal income tax purposes unless the compensation qualifies as performance-based compensation and is paid or granted pursuant to a shareholder approved plan. The 1991 Master Stock Compensation Plan, now expired, and the 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan were approved by stockholders in 1991 and 2001 respectively and limit the number of shares under a stock option or the Long Term Compensation Plan that can be granted in any one year to any one individual to further the policy of preserving the tax deduction for compensation paid to executives. At our November 2005 Annual Meeting, our shareholders approved the Qualified Performance-Based Compensation Plan. Our Officer Annual Cash Incentive and our Long Term Compensation Plan were adopted by the Committee as sub-plans of the Qualified Plan, subject to all the terms and limits of the Qualified Plan.

    The Company’s policy isawards provided by the Plans are intended to preservequalify as qualified performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the taxInternal Revenue Code. The Committee reviewed the potential consequences for the Company of Section 162(m) and believes that this provision did not affect the deductibility of such performance-based compensation.compensation paid to our executive officers in Fiscal 2007.

    Conclusion.Summary
             The executive officer compensation program administered by the Committee provides incentives to attain strong financial performance and to ensure alignment with stockholdershareholder interests. The Committee believes that the Company’s totalour executive compensation program, focuseswith the effortsstrong emphasis on stock ownership and pay for performance, motivates our executive officers to produce strong returns for our shareholders and continue to create shareholder value.

    SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

    The following table provides summary information concerning compensation paid or accrued by the Company to or on behalf of Company executives on the continued achievementour Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Financial Officer, and each of growth and profitability for the long-term and for the benefitour three other most highly compensated executive officers who served in such capacities as of the Company’s stockholders.

    Membersend of the Human Resourcesfiscal year (collectively, the “Named Executive Officers”) for services rendered during the 2007 fiscal year.

    Name and Principal Position  Year  Salary
    ($)(1)
      Bonus
    ($)(2)
      Stock
    Awards
    ($)(3)
      Option
    Awards
    ($)(4)
      Non-equity
    Incentive
    Plan
    Compensation
    ($)(6)
      Change in
    Pension
    Value and
    Non-qualified
    Deferred
    Compensation
    Earnings(10)
      All Other
    Compensation(12)
      Total ($) 










    William Cook,
    Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
        2007   695,193   0   893,507   554,948   1,021,300   1,408,670   98,935   4,672,553 
    Thomas VerHage,
    Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
        2007   323,848   0   614,072   89,436(5)  327,348(7)  127,530(11)  54,076   1,536,310 
    Lowell Schwab,
    Senior Vice President, Engine
        2007   336,597   0   344,241   182,449   301,014   237,329   43,478   1,445,108 
    Geert Henk Touw,
    Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific
        2007   294,212   0   217,810   147,932   214,821(8)  130,219   33,455   1,038,449 
    Charles McMurray,
    Senior Vice President, Industrial
        2007   273,079   0   194,400   94,930   238,845(9)  103,005   1,112   905,371 


    (1)Named Executive Officers are eligible to defer a portion of their base salary into the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan. Mr. VerHage deferred $193,155 of his base salary into the Plan, Mr. Schwab deferred $20,196 of his base salary into the Plan and Mr. McMurray deferred $16,616 of his base salary into the Plan. Participants can choose different investment alternatives. Mr. VerHage, Mr. Schwab and Mr. McMurray chose to allocate their deferral to be credited with a fixed rate of return equal to the ten-year Treasury Bond rate plus 2%.


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    (2)The Company did not provide a bonus during the year to any of our Named Executive Officers that was not performance-based.
    (3)This column reflects the compensation cost recognized by the Company for financial reporting purposes for the fiscal year of restricted stock grants and awards under our Long Term Compensation Plan made under the Company’s 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan. These amounts were calculated in accordance with SFAS 123(R) on the same basis as used for financial reporting purposes for the fiscal year. These stock awards are valued based on the grant date market value.
    We did not make any new restricted stock grants during the previous fiscal year to our Named Executive Officers. Mr. VerHage currently has an unvested restricted stock grant of 18,000 shares which vests on March 9, 2009. Dividends are paid on restricted stock and are reflected in the All Other Compensation Column. The value included in this column of Mr. VerHage’s grant is $101,538. Mr. McMurray had a restricted stock grant of 4,000 shares that vested on March 19, 2007. The value included in this column for Mr. McMurray’s grant is $23,166.
    This column also reflects the compensation cost for financial reporting purposes under SFAS 123(R) of the three Long Term Compensation Plan incentive cycles that were active during fiscal year 2007: Cycle XVII, which runs from August 1, 2004 – July 31, 2007: Cycle XVIII, which runs from August 1, 2005 – July 31, 2008; and Cycle XIX, which runs from August 1, 2006 – July 31, 2009.
    (4)This column represents the compensation costs for financial reporting purposes under SFAS 123(R) of stock option awards granted during the fiscal year under the Company’s 2001 Master Stock Incentive Plan. These amounts were calculated in accordance with SFAS 123(R) on the same basis as used for financial reporting purposes for the fiscal year. Refer to Footnote H to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2007 for our policy and assumptions made in the valuation of share-based payments. The fiscal 2007 stock option grants for our Named Executive Officers were made on December 5, 2006, the date they were approved by the Committee. The grant price for those options was the closing market price of the stock on that date. This column also reflects compensation costs of any stock option grants for our Named Executive Officers that are not yet fully vested (for grants made with three year vesting). The value in this column for Mr. Cook includes $17,463 which relates to a reload option which was granted on September 12, 2006.
    (5)This represents the compensation costs for financial reporting purposes under SFAS123(R) of Mr. VerHage’s Fiscal 2007 option grant of 9,000 shares granted on December 5, 2006 and of his March 9, 2004 new hire grant of 25,000 shares which became fully vested on March 9, 2007.
    (6)This is the amount earned under our Annual Cash Incentive Plan as described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis for the fiscal year. This amount is expected to be paid by October 15, 2007.
    (7)Mr. VerHage elected to defer his entire annual cash incentive of $327,348 to the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan.
    (8)The Committee approved the adjustment of this award due to a one time accounting event in Japan which increased Mr. Touw’s incentive award by $3,161. See the Compensation Discussion and Analysis under Annual Cash Incentive for further details.
    (9)Mr. McMurray was promoted to Senior Vice President in September 2006 and effective November 2006, the Committee approved increasing his target percentage from 40% of base salary to 60% of base salary. His award for Fiscal 2007 was prorated with 25% based on the 40% target and 75% based on the 60% target. Mr. McMurray elected to defer 10%, $23,885, of his annual cash incentive to the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan.
    (10)This includes the annual change in the value of our Named Executive Officer’s pension benefits for the following plans:
    Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan


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    Excess Pension Plan
    Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan
    This column also includes the amounts for the dollar value of the interest accrued that is above the market interest rates determined under SEC rules for compensation deferred under the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan. The interest rate for the deferred compensation plan is set by the Committee at the ten-year Treasury Bond rate plus 2%.
    The amounts in Change in Pension Value and Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Earnings column are as follows:
    Name  Change in
    Pension Value
      Above Market
    Interest
      Total 




    William Cook   $1,387,252  $21,418  $1,408,670 
    Thomas VerHage   $113,717  $13,813  $127,530 
    Lowell Schwab   $237,095  $234  $237,329 
    Geert Henk Touw   $130,219  $0  $130,219 
    Charles McMurray   $102,950  $55  $103,005 

    (11)Includes the value of the SERP benefit for Mr. VerHage of $54,733. This amount reflects the Company’s hiring terms with Mr. VerHage to be eligible for the SERP benefit with five years of service.
    (12)Amounts in this column include:
    Company match and discretionary contribution to the Retirement Savings and Employee Stock Ownership Plan and the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan in the following amounts:
    Name  Company Match and
    Discretionary Contribution
     


    William Cook   $80,608 
    Thomas VerHage   $26,268 
    Lowell Schwab   $24,628 
    Geert Henk Touw   $21,477 
    Charles McMurray   $16,908 

    Perquisites for financial planning services, automobile, executive physicals, and a social country club membership for Mr. Cook
    Dividends on Restricted Stock Grants for Mr. VerHage and Mr. McMurray
    The imputed income on the Company-provided basic life insurance in excess of $50,000
    Expatriate adjustments for tax equalization repayments for Mr. McMurray and Mr. Touw of ($30,116) and ($8,979) respectively.


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    GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE

    This table provides information regarding each grant of an award made to our Named Executive Officers during Fiscal 2007. This includes the following payments made under:

    Annual Cash Incentive Plan which were earned during Fiscal 2007
    Long Term Compensation Plan incentive cycle which began August 1, 2006
    Stock Options granted during Fiscal 2007
    Name and Plan  Equity Award
    Grant Date(1)
      Estimated Future Payouts
    Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards(2)
      Estimated Future Payouts
    Under Equity Incentive Plan Awards(3)
      All Other
    Options
    Awards:
    Number of
    Securities
    Underlying
    Options
      Exercise or
    Base Price
    of Option
    Awards
    ($/Sh)(7)
      Grant Date
    Fair Value
    of Stock
    and Option
    Awards(7)
      


    Threshold  Target  Maximum  Threshold  Target  Maximum  











    William Cook                                
    Annual Cash Incentive      $0  $560,000  $1,120,000                   
    Long Term Compensation Plan    7/28/2006            3,900   15,600   42,900          
    Stock Options    9/12/2006                     11,813(8) $37.65(8) $17,463(8)
        12/5/2006                     54,500(5) $35.10(6) $537,484 
    Thomas VerHage                                
    Annual Cash Incentive      $0  $192,000  $384,000                   
    Long Term Compensation Plan    7/28/2006            1,400   5,600   15,400          
    Stock Options    12/5/2006                     9,000(5) $35.10(6) $55,121 
    Lowell Schwab                                
    Annual Cash Incentive      $0  $196,800  $393,600                   
    Long Term Compensation Plan    7/28/2006            1,500   6,000   16,500          
    Stock Options    12/5/2006                     18,500(5) $35.10(6) $182,449 
    Geert Henk Touw                                
    Annual Cash Incentive      $0  $133,500  $267,000                   
    Long Term Compensation Plan    7/28/2006            333(4)  1,333(4)  3,666(4)         
    Stock Options    12/5/2006                     15,000(5) $35.10(6) $147,932 
    Charles McMurray                                
    Annual Cash Incentive      $0  $148,500  $297,000                   
    Long Term Compensation Plan    7/28/2006            750   3,000   8,250          
    Stock Options    12/5/2006                     15,500(5) $35.10(6) $94,930 

    (1)The Grant date for the Long Term Compensation Plan is the date the award was approved by the Committee. These amounts are reflected in the Estimated Future Payouts Under Equity Incentive Plan Awards columns. The Incentive Cycle runs from August 1, 2006 through July 31, 2009.
    (2)The Threshold, Target and Maximum represent the range of payments under the Annual Cash Incentive Plan described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis. The actual payment under this Annual Cash Incentive Plan is reflected in the Summary Compensation Table in the Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation column.
    (3)The Threshold, Target and Maximum represent the range of payments under the Long Term Compensation Plan described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis. The amounts in these columns reflect shares of stock. The actual award payout under the Long Term Compensation Plan will be increased by 25% if the Earnings per Share goal of 5% per year is achieved.


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    (4)Since Mr. Touw retired on August 3, 2007, his payout under the Long Term Compensation Plan will be prorated to reflect the period of this incentive cycle that Mr. Touw was actively employed. These amounts reflect 1/3 of the original award shares to reflect his active employment during one year of the three years of the incentive cycle.
    (5)Annual Stock Options granted to our Named Executive Officers on December 5, 2006 as described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis. These grants were approved by the Committee on the grant date. All options are granted with an exercise price equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of the grant and are immediately vested on the date of grant.
    (6)The option price is the closing stock price on the date the Committee approved the stock option grant, December 5, 2006.
    (7)This represents the SFAS 123(R) Fair Market Value of these awards which were determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model as detailed in Footnote H to the Consolidate Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for Fiscal 2007.
    (8)This is a reload option award, as described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis under Stock Options, which was granted on September 12, 2006 with a grant price of $37.65, the closing stock price on the date of the grant and was immediately vested. The reload option was approved by the Committee as part of the initial grant on December 5, 1996.


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    OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR-END TABLE

      Option Awards  Stock Awards  


    Name  Number of
    Securities
    Underlying
    Unexercised
    Options
    Exercisable
      Option
    Exercise
    Price
      Option
    Expiration
    Date
      Number of
    Shares of
    Stock or
    Units Held
    That Have
    Not Vested
      Market
    Value of
    Shares of
    Stock or
    Units That
    Have Not
    Vested(2)
      Equity Incentive
    Plan Awards:
    Number of
    Unearned Shares,
    Units or
    Other Rights
    That Have
    Not Vested
      Equity Incentive
    Plan Awards:
    Market Value
    of Unearned
    Shares, Units,
    or Other
    Rights That
    Have Not
    Vested(2)
     








    William Cook    52,000  $11.3438   12/19/2007   0  $0   18,500(3) $674,880 
        52,000  $10.0000   12/3/2008   0  $0   19,500(4) $711,360 
        43,000  $11.5000   12/6/2009   0  $0       
        43,000  $12.9063   12/12/2010   0  $0       
        8,206  $15.0550   8/6/2011   0  $0       
        43,000  $18.1900   12/3/2011   0  $0       
        43,000  $17.7800   12/5/2012   0  $0       
        38,000  $30.3800   12/5/2013   0  $0       
        75,000  $25.7500   5/19/2014   0  $0       
        53,500  $30.6900   12/7/2014   0  $0       
        53,000  $32.8000   12/16/2015   0  $0       
        54,500  $35.1000   12/5/2016   0  $0       
    Thomas VerHage    25,000  $28.2050   3/9/2014   18,000(1) $656,640   7,250(3) $264,480 
        9,000  $30.6900   12/7/2014   0  $0   7,000(4) $255,360 
        9,000  $32.8000   12/16/2015   0  $0       
        9,000  $35.1000   12/5/2016   0  $0       
    Lowell Schwab    30,692  $28.3500   12/3/2008   0  $0   7,750(3) $282,720 
        29,456  $27.8250   12/12/2010   0  $0   7,500(4) $273,600 
        31,699  $32.5000   12/3/2011   0  $0       
        31,404  $32.5000   12/5/2012   0  $0       
        36,000  $30.3800   12/5/2013   0  $0       
        20,500  $30.6900   12/7/2014   0  $0       
        20,000  $32.8000   12/16/2015   0  $0       
        18,500  $35.1000   12/5/2016   0  $0       
    Geert Henk Touw    15,000  $30.3800   12/5/2013   0  $0   3,500(5) $127,680 
        18,000  $30.6900   12/7/2014   0  $0   1,666(6) $60,776 
        16,000  $32.8000   12/16/2015   0  $0       
        15,000  $35.1000   12/5/2016   0  $0       
    Charles McMurray    5,000  $11.3438   12/19/2007   0  $0   3,875(3) $141,360 
        7,000  $10.0000   12/3/2008   0  $0   3,750(4) $136,800 
        6,000  $11.5000   12/6/2009   0  $0       
        6,000  $12.9063   12/12/2010   0  $0       
        7,000  $18.1900   12/3/2011   0  $0       
        6,000  $17.7800   12/5/2012   0  $0       
        13,000  $30.3800   12/5/2013   0  $0       
        7,000  $30.6900   12/7/2014   0  $0       
        7,000  $32.8000   12/16/2015   0  $0       
        15,500  $35.1000   12/5/2016   0  $0       

    (1)Mr. VerHage’s restricted stock grant of 18,000 shares vests on March 9, 2009.
    (2)The market value is calculated using the closing stock price on the NYSE at the end of Fiscal 2007.
    (3)This is the Target payout for the Long Term Compensation Plan for the three year incentive period ending July 31, 2008. The target amount has been increased by 25% to reflect the assumed achievement of 5% annual earnings per share increase for each of the three years during the period.
    (4)This is the Target payout for the Long Term Compensation Plan for the three year incentive period ending July 31, 2009. The target amount has been increased by 25% to reflect the assumed achievement of 5% annual earnings per share increase for each of the three years during the period.
    (5)Since Mr. Touw retired on August 3, 2007, his payment from the Long Term Compensation Plan for the three year incentive period ending July 31, 2008 will be 66.7% of the original award to reflect his active employment for two years of the three year incentive period. This is reflected in the amount shown in this column.


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    (6)Since Mr. Touw retired on August 3, 2007, his payment from the Long Term Compensation Plan for the three year incentive period ending July 31, 2009 will be 33.3% of the original award to reflect his active employment for one year of the three year incentive period. This is reflected in the amount shown in this column.

    OPTION EXERCISES AND STOCK VESTED TABLE

    Name  Option awards  Stock awards(4)  


    Number of
    Shares Acquired
    on Exercise
      Value Realized
    on Exercise
      Number of
    Shares Acquired
    on Vesting
      Value Realized
    on Vesting
      




     
    William Cook    52,000(1) $1,535,300   25,329  $1,048,621 
    Thomas VerHage    0  $0   28,694(2) $1,187,932 
    Lowell Schwab    32,864  $583,665   10,749(2) $445,009 
    Geert Henk Touw    0  $0   6,019  $249,187 
    Charles McMurray          5,137(2) $212,672 
        0  $0   4,000(3) $141,560 

    (1)Mr. Cook elected to defer 100% of the shares acquired on exercise to the Deferred Stock Option Gain Plan. 40,187 shares were deferred into this non-qualified deferred compensation plan.
    (2)Mr. VerHage, Mr. Schwab and Mr. McMurray elected to defer 100% of their shares to the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan as described under the Retirement Plans and Deferred Compensation Plans in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis.
    (3)The restrictions on Mr. McMurray’s March 19, 2004 restricted stock grant were lifted on March 19, 2007. He received 2,638 shares net of taxes withheld.
    (4)The Committee approved the adjustment of this Long Term Compensation Plan Award to remove the impact of two accounting events which occurred after the performance objectives and targets were established by the Committee for this three year incentive period (Fiscal 2005 through Fiscal 2007). See the Compensation Disclosure and Analysis for more details.

    Pension Benefits
    Jeffrey Noddle, Chair
    F. Guillaume Bastiaens
    Jack W. Eugster
    John F. Grundhofer

    PENSION BENEFITS

    The Company maintainsprovides pension benefits to our executive officers through the Donaldson Company, Inc.following plans:

    Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan
    Excess Pension Plan
    Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan

    Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan
             The Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan (the “Retirement Plan”),is a defined benefit pension plan that provides retirement benefits to our eligible employees through a cash balance plan structure. The Company also maintains the Donaldson Company, Inc. Excess Retirement Plan (the “Excess Retirement Plan”). The Excess Retirement Plan is an unfunded, non-qualified deferred compensation arrangement that primarily provides retirement benefits that cannot be paid under the Retirement Plan because of the limitations imposed by the Internal Revenue Code on qualified plans in regards to compensation and benefits.


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    Table of Contents

    benefit. Participants in the Retirement Plan and Excess Retirement Plan accumulate benefitsa benefit in a hypothetical account balance throughfrom interest credits and company contribution credits. The company contribution credits that vary with service, age service and pay.compensation. A participant’s benefit is 100% vested after five years of service. At retirement or termination, of employment,a participant who has a vested benefit can receive the vested account balance is payable to the participantbenefit in the form of an immediate or deferreda lump sum or an actuarially equivalent annuity.

    UnderAn employee’s account earns interest each year based on the cash balance benefit structure, account balances receive an interest credit annually. The interest credit is defined as the current plan year’s interest crediting rate times the account balance as of the beginning of the plan year. The interest crediting rate for a particular plan year is the greater of theaverage yield on one-year U.S. Treasury Constant Maturities during the month of June precedingprior to the plan year,Plan Year plus one percent, and 4.83%1%. This is the Interest Crediting Rate. The minimum annual interest crediting rate is 6.16% for4.83%.

    The company contribution credit consists of a basic company credit and an excess company credit. The basic company credit is equal to the 2006basic company credit percentage (see table below) multiplied by a participant’s compensation during the plan year. The excess company credit is equal to the excess company credit percentage (see table below) multiplied by a participant’s compensation during the plan year which exceeds the social security taxable wage base. The compensation used in the calculation is total cash compensation paid during the plan year which is August 1 – July 31.



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    Table of Contents

    Company contribution credits are credited to the account balancesbalance at the end of each plan year. The participant’s Company Credit Percentagesbasic and excess company contribution credit percentages are based on thea participant’s age plus years of age and service with the Company and its affiliates as of the end of each plan year. As of August 1, 2006, the sum of years of age plus service for Messrs. Cook, Giertz, Schwab, VerHage and Touw were 78, 61, 83, 55 and 80, respectively. The participant’s Base Company Credit is equal to the Base Company Credit Percentage times total covered compensation during the plan year (“Pensionable Earnings”). The participant’s Excess Company Credit is equal to the Excess Company Credit Percentage times Pensionable Earnings in excess of the Social Security taxable wage base. The following table displays the Company Credit Percentages for the sum of years of age and service shown:

    Company Credit Percentages
    Sum of Years of Age Plus Service
    Base
    Excess
    Less than 40     3.0%     3.0%  
    40 – 49  4.0  4.0  
    50 – 59  5.0  5.0  
    60 – 69  6.5  5.0  
    70 or more  8.5  5.0  

    Special Career Credits are credited at the end of the plan yearyear. As of July 31, 2007, the sum of age plus years of service for the Named Executive Officers was Mr. Cook, 80; Mr. VerHage, 57; Mr. Schwab, 85; Mr. McMurray, 80; and Mr. Touw, 82.

    The following are the company credit percentages:

      Company Credit Percentages  

    Age plus Years of Service  Basic  Excess 



    Less than 40    3.0%  3.0%
    40 – 49    4.0%  4.0%
    50 – 59    5.0%  5.0%
    60 – 69    6.5%  5.0%
    70 or more    8.5%  5.0%

    A special career credit is credited to thea participant’s account balances of participants who were born prior to August 1, 1957 and continuously employed since August 1, 1992. The Special Career Credits are equal to 3.0% of the participant’s Pensionable Earnings and will continue throughbalance at the end of the 2006 plan year for those participants who had attained age 40 and had at least 5 years of service on August 1, 1997. The special career credit is equal to 3% of compensation and continue through July 31, 2007, or if earlier through the plan year in which the participant attains 35 years of benefit service. Messrs.Mr. Cook, Mr. Schwab, Mr. McMurray and Mr. Touw are all currently eligible to receive Special Career Credits.

    The individuals named in the Summary Compensation Table are alsowere eligible for the special career credits.

    Excess Pension Plan
             The Excess Pension Plan mirrors the Salaried Employee’s Pension Plan. This plan is an unfunded, non-qualified plan that primarily provides retirement benefits that cannot be paid under the Donaldson Company, Inc. Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan due to the Internal Revenue Code limitations on qualified plans for compensation and benefits. Vested benefits are paid out of this plan on or after termination or retirement in annual installments of up to twenty years or a lump sum according to elections made by the participant in accordance with applicable IRS regulations.

    Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (the “SERP”).(SERP)
             The SERP assures participantsis designed to guarantee our executive officers a minimum lump sum retirement benefit from all companyCompany funded retirement programs (including any retirement benefits from a previous employer) equal to six times their30% of the participant’s average compensation (three(average of the three highest consecutive years) upon reachingmultiplied by years of service (maximum of 20 years). To determine if any portion of this benefit would be payable under the SERP, all Company provided retirement benefits from the Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan, the Excess Pension Plan, the Employee Stock Ownership and Retirement Savings Plan and the Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan, plus any retirement benefits that are provided from a previous employer will offset the formula described above. 

    This benefit is payable at age 62 with 20ten years of service. This targetCompensation in this plan is defined as base salary earned during the plan year plus the annual cash incentive earned during the plan year.  A reduced benefit is available at age 55 with fifteen years of service.  The benefit is reduced by 2% for each year the participant’s retirementbenefit precedes age 62.  Mr. VerHage, per his hiring terms, is eligible for a benefit under the SERP after five years of service.



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    Table of Contents

    PENSION BENEFITS TABLE

    Name  Plan Name  Number of
    Years of
    Credited
    Service
      Present Value
    of Accumulated
    Benefit(1)
      Payments
    During Last
    Fiscal Year
     





    William Cook   Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan    27  $457,454  $0 
       Excess Pension Plan    27  $875,909  $0 
       Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan(3)    27  $1,458,619  $0 
    Thomas VerHage   Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan    3  $14,811  $0 
       Excess Pension Plan    3  $115,225  $0 
       Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan(2) (3)    3  $96,277  $0 
    Lowell Schwab   Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan    27  $499,547  $0 
       Excess Pension Plan    27  $565,066  $0 
       Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan(3)    27  $480,640  $0 
    Geert Henk Touw   Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan    21  $495,915  $0 
       Excess Pension Plan    21  $385,135  $0 
       Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan(3)    21  $0  $0 
    Charles McMurray   Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan    27  $397,652  $0 
       Excess Pension Plan    27  $108,585  $0 
       Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan(3)    27  $0  $0 

    (1)The present value of the accumulated benefit for the Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan and the Excess Pension Plan was determined by projecting the August 1, 2007 cash balance amounts to age 65 using a 5.5% interest credit rate and discounting it using a 6% interest rate.
    The present value of the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan was determined by projecting the cash balance plans to age 62 using a 5.5% interest rate and projecting 401(k) plans to age 62 using a 9.75% interest rate. This amount was then discounted using a 6% interest rate.
    No pre-retirement mortality or termination rates were used.
    The actual accrued balances as of the end of Fiscal 2007 were as follows:
    Name  Salaried
    Employees’
    Pension Plan
      Excess
    Pension Plan
     



    William Cook   $482,066  $923,034 
    Thomas VerHage *   $15,558  $121,042 
    Lowell Schwab   $514,326  $581,784 
    Geert Henk Touw   $503,991  $391,408 
    Charles McMurray   $419,707  $114,607 

    * Mr. VerHage is not vested in his benefits under either plan. If he continues active employment, he will become 100% vested in January 2009.


    (2)Mr. VerHage is eligible for the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan benefit after 5 years of service, per his hiring agreement.
    (3)To be eligible for a benefit under the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, a participant must be at least age 55. As of the end of Fiscal 2007, only Mr. Schwab and Mr. Touw met that eligibility requirement for a benefit, if any, under this plan.


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    Table of Contents

    Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation
             The Company allows executive officers to defer compensation through the following plans:

    Deferred Compensation and 401(k) Excess Plan
    Deferred Stock Option Gain Plan

    Through the Deferred Compensation and it401(k) Excess Plan, the participants are eligible to defer the following:

    Up to 75% of base salary
    Up to 100% of Annual Cash Incentive
    Up to 100% of the Long Term Compensation Plan award
    Up to 100% of a restricted stock grant
    Up to 25% of compensation in excess of the qualified plan compensation limits ($225,000 for 2007)

    Any deferred cash (base salary and annual cash incentive) will receive a matching company contribution as described under the 401(k) Plan in the Compensation Discussion & Analysis.

    Participants have the following two investment alternatives for the deferrals of base salary and annual cash incentive:

    Allocate the account to be credited with a fixed rate of return equal to the ten-year Treasury Bond rate plus 2% (this rate is approved annually by the Committee) or
    Allocate the account to one or more measurement funds. Several mutual fund investments are available.

    Executive officers can elect to defer any gain on stock option exercises to the Deferred Stock Option Gain Plan. The deferral election must be made in the year prior to the year the stock option grant is awarded.

    All stock deferrals (Long Term Compensation Plan awards, Restricted Stock Grants and Stock Option Gains) remain in stock and are paid out in stock. These deferrals earn any quarterly dividends that may be paid on Donaldson stock.

    The Company also reducedsponsors the ESOP Restoration Plan, which is a non-qualified supplemental deferred compensation plan that was established on August 1, 1990 and is funded through a non-qualified “rabbi” trust. This plan provided benefits that were not payable under the Company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan due to IRS limits on compensation. The Employee Stock Ownership Plan was a leveraged ESOP and contributions were made to the plan from August 1987 through July 1997. Currently, the only new contributions made to the ESOP Restoration Plan are for any quarterly dividend equivalents. These quarterly dividend equivalents are based on dividends paid on the Company’s Common Stock.

    Payments are made under these plans in the form of a lump sum or annual installments of up to 20 years. The deferral elections and payment elections are made in accordance with the timing requirements of applicable IRS regulations.

    NON-QUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION TABLE

    Name  Executive
    Contributions
    in Last FY(1)
      Registrant
    Contributions
    in Last FY(2)
      Aggregate
    Earnings
    in Last FY
      Aggregate
    Withdrawals/
    Distributions
      Aggregate
    Balance at
    Last FYE(3)
     






    William Cook   $2,548,760  $71,781  $235,074  $0  $8,573,764 
    Thomas VerHage   $476,901  $23,493  $90,189  $0  $1,469,701 
    Lowell Schwab   $582,478  $15,266  $39,515  $0  $1,183,204 
    Geert Henk Touw   $12,298  $12,298  $23,669  $0  $408,741 
    Charles McMurray   $36,123  $10,376  $8,628  $0  $155,514 

    (1)Includes amounts listed deferred into the non-qualified deferred compensation plans as follows:


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    Table of Contents

    Deferred Salary of $193,155 for Mr. VerHage, $20,196 for Mr. Schwab and $16,616 for Mr. McMurray as reported in the Summary Compensation Table.
    Deferred Annual Cash Incentive of $330,000 for Mr. Cook and $283,746 for Mr. VerHage as reported in the Summary Compensation Table.
    Deferred Stock Option Gain of $1,466,019 for Mr. Cook.
    Deferred Long Term Compensation Plan awards of $674,812 for Mr. Cook and $534,547 for Mr. Schwab.
    401(k) Excess contributions of $77,929 for Mr. Cook, $27,735 for Mr. Schwab, $19,507 for Mr. McMurray and $12,298 for Mr. Touw as reported in All Other Compensation in the Summary Compensation Table.
    (2)This reflects the company match for deferred salary, deferred bonus and 401(k) Excess contributions and the discretionary contributions on deferred salary and bonus and pay above IRS compensation limits.
    (3)Includes balances for our Named Executive Officers from the non-qualified deferred compensation plans as follows:
    Name  Deferred
    Compensation
    and 401(k)
    Excess Plan
    Balance at FYE
      Deferred Stock
    Option Gain
    Plan Balance
    at FYE
      ESOP Restoration
    Plan Balance
    at FYE
     




    William Cook   $6,647,157  $1,731,850  $194,757 
    Thomas VerHage   $1,469,701  $0  $0 
    Lowell Schwab   $949,059  $0  $234,145 
    Geert Henk Touw   $202,230  $0  $206,511 
    Charles McMurray   $155,514  $0  $0 

    Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control
             The following discussion and tables reflect the amount of compensation that would be paid to the Named Executive Officers in the event of termination of employment of the executive under several different termination scenarios. Since Mr. Touw retired from Donaldson Company, Inc. on August 3, 2007, he was not included in these tables and discussion, with the exception of retirement.

    Potential Payments upon Termination Absent a Change in Control
    Retirement.   Our executive officers are eligible for retirement at age 55 with five years of vesting service. As of the end of Fiscal 2007, Mr. Schwab and Mr. Touw were eligible for retirement. As stated previously Mr. Touw retired on August 3, 2007.

    Upon retirement, all outstanding non-vested stock options will continue to vest in accordance with the option schedule set forth in the applicable option agreement. There were no non-vested stock options as of fiscal year end for Mr. Schwab or Mr. Touw. In addition, all outstanding stock options will continue to remain outstanding and become exercisable for the remainder of their respective ten year term (in accordance with the terms of the stock option plan document). Restricted stock grants that have not vested would be prorated at retirement. As of the end of Fiscal 2007, neither Mr. Schwab nor Mr. Touw had a restricted stock grant.

    In the event of retirement during the fiscal year, the executive officer would receive a prorated basisannual cash incentive for less than 20 yearsthe period of service. In determining whether the SERP must supplement the other company funded retirement programs, the Companyyear when actively employed. Mr. Touw will consider the lump sum benefits describedreceive his full annual cash incentive (amount shown in the previous paragraph and footnote (5) to the Summary Compensation Table) since he retired at fiscal year end. If Mr. Schwab had retired at fiscal year end, he would have received his full annual cash incentive (as shown in the Summary Compensation Table).

    For any Long Term Compensation Plan awards that are not vested (i.e., they are still within the three-year incentive cycle), a participant who retires receives a prorated payment at the end of the three-year incentive cycle based on the portion of the period during which the participant was actively employed. Mr. Touw will receive 1/3 of the award for the cycle which ends July 31, 2009 and 2/3 of the award for the cycle which ends July 31, 2008 (see amounts listed in the Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End table). If



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    Mr. Schwab had retired at fiscal year end, he would have received the same portions as well as,Mr. Touw for the two outstanding long term compensation plan cycles.

    Payments under our non-qualified deferred compensation plans and Excess Pension Plan would be paid according to the payment elections made by the Named Executive Officer. The amounts reflected in the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Table and Pension Benefits Table would have been payable according to the officer’s payment elections in the event of a retirement at the end of Fiscal 2007. The amounts in the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Table and the Pension Benefits Table (for the Excess plan) will be paid to Mr. Touw beginning six months after his retirement in five annual installments, per his election. If Mr. Schwab had retired at fiscal year end, a SERP benefit of $990,080 would have been payable to him in five annual installments beginning five years after his retirement (per his election).

    Involuntary Termination.    In the event of an involuntary termination not for cause, the Committee has the sole discretion to determine the amount, if any, of severance payments and benefits that will be offered to a Named Executive Officer. While we have no formal employment agreements with our executive officers and no formal severance policy, our general practice for U.S salaried employees is to pay severance equal to one week of base salary for each year of service, with a minimum of eight weeks for directors and above. We generally pay for continued coverage for medical and dental for a period of three months. If the Committee were to follow our general practice, the following payments would be made to our Named Executive Officers if they had been involuntarily terminated at the end of Fiscal 2007:

    Name  Severance  Benefit
    Continuation
     



    William Cook   $363,462  $4,107 
    Thomas VerHage   $49,231  $3,741 
    Lowell Schwab   $170,308  $1,758 
    Charles McMurray   $140,192  $2,445 

    Upon involuntary termination, all outstanding non-vested stock options will stop vesting and the unvested portion will be forfeited. Outstanding vested pension benefits available from prior employers, if any.stock options must be exercised within one month of such termination. Restricted stock grants that have not vested would be forfeited.

    The projections below set forthannual incentive would not be paid if the estimated annual benefit payable toexecutive officer was not employed on the last day of the fiscal year. If the involuntary termination occurred at fiscal year end for each of our Named Executive Officers, the individuals namedamount listed in the Summary Compensation Table asfor the annual cash incentive would be payable to them. For any Long Term Compensation Plan awards that are not vested (i.e., they are still within the three-year incentive cycle), the participant will not receive any payment for those cycles.

    Payments under our non-qualified deferred compensation plans and Excess Pension Plan would be paid according to the payment election made by the Named Executive Officer. The amounts reflected in the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Table and the Pension Benefits Table would have been payable according to the officer’s payment elections in the event of a single life annuity, beginningtermination at the end of Fiscal 2007. Under the SERP, a participant must be at least age 65, under the Retirement, Excess Retirement and SERP Plans: Mr. Cook, $427,893; Mr. Giertz, $246,424; Mr. Schwab, $183,735; Mr. VerHage, $124,796; and Mr. Touw, $113,542. Mr. VerHage is the only participant who is expected55 at termination of employment to be eligible to receive a benefit from the SERP Plan. These projections are based on the following assumptions: (1) employment until age 65; (2) base pay plus target bonus with no future increase in pensionable earnings; (3) interest creditsHad Mr. Schwab terminated at the actual rateend of 6.16% during the 2006 planfiscal year, he would have received a SERP benefit of $990,080 which would have been payable in five annual installments beginning five years after his termination of employment (per his election). Since Mr. Cook, Mr. VerHage and thereafter; and (4) conversionMr. McMurray were not age 55 at the end of Fiscal 2007, there would be no SERP benefit payable to them if they had terminated at the end of the fiscal year.

    Death.    In the event of the death of an executive officer, all outstanding non-vested stock options would continue to vest in accordance with the schedule set forth in the applicable option agreement. As of the end of Fiscal 2007, there were no non-vested stock options for our Named Executive Officers. All outstanding vested stock options must be exercised by the officer’s named beneficiary within 36 months of the officer’s death.

    Restricted stock grants that have not vested would be prorated at death, per the terms of the applicable restricted stock award agreement. As of the end of Fiscal 2007, Mr. VerHage is the only Named Executive Officer with a single life annuityrestricted stock award. Mr. VerHage’s named beneficiary would have received 12,217 shares of his restricted stock grant had he died at normal retirement age based on a discount rate of 6.00% and the Unisex 1994 Group Annuity Mortality Table.fiscal year end.



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    In the event of death during the fiscal year, the executive officer’s beneficiary would receive a prorated annual cash incentive for the period of the year when actively employed. If a death occurred at fiscal year end for each of our Named Executive Officers, the amount listed in the Summary Compensation Table for the annual cash incentive for each Named Executive Officer would be paid to his beneficiary.

    For any Long Term Compensation Plan awards that are not vested (i.e., they are still within the three-year incentive cycle), the participant’s beneficiary would receive a prorated payment at the end of the three-year incentive cycle based on the portion of the period during which the participant was actively employed. Had a death of our Named Executive Officers occurred at fiscal year end, their beneficiary would have received 1/3 of the long term compensation cycle which ends on July 31, 2009 and 2/3 of the long term compensation cycle which ends on July 31, 2008 (see the Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End Table).

    Upon the death of a Named Executive Officer, payments under our non-qualified deferred compensation plans and excess pension plan would be accelerated. A lump sum payment would be paid to the officer’s named beneficiary upon death. The amounts reflected in the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Table and Pension Benefits Table would have been payable to the named beneficiary as a lump sum in the event of the death of a Named Executive Officer at the end of Fiscal 2007.

    Under the SERP, if a participant dies after 15 years of service and prior to age 62, their named beneficiary will receive a lump sum benefit from the Plan. If the Named Executive Officers had died at the end of Fiscal 2007, their beneficiaries would have received the following lump sum from the plan:

    Name  SERP Benefit 


    William Cook   $3,942,161 
    Thomas VerHage   $0 
    Lowell Schwab   $990,080 
    Charles McMurray   $661,017 

    Disability.    In the event of the disability of an executive officer, all outstanding non-vested stock options continue to vest. As of the end of Fiscal 2007, there were no non-vested stock options for our Named Executive Officers. All outstanding vested stock options would have to be exercised within 36 months of disability.

    Restricted stock grants that have not vested would be prorated at disability, per the terms of the applicable restricted stock award agreement. Mr. VerHage, the only Named Executive Officer with a restricted stock award, would have received 12,217 shares of his restricted stock grant had he become disabled at fiscal year end.

    Upon the occurrence of a disability, each executive officer who participates in our long-term disability program, will receive an annual benefit equal to 60% of total cash compensation until the earlier of: (a) age 65; (b) recovery from the disability; or (c) death under our current insurance policies (the portion of compensation up to $200,000 is fully insured and payable by our insurance company and the portion of compensation in excess of $200,000 is self insured and payable by the company.) Had our Named Executive Officers become disabled at fiscal year end, they would have received annual disability benefits as follows:

      Annual Disability Benefit  

    Name  Fully
    Insured
    Portion
      Self
    Insured
    Portion
     



    William Cook   $120,000  $880,962 
    Thomas VerHage   $120,000  $237,172 
    Lowell Schwab   $120,000  $269,069 
    Charles McMurray   $120,000  $140,116 

    In the event of the disability during the fiscal year, the executive officer would receive a prorated annual cash incentive for the period of the year when actively employed per the terms of the plan. If a disability had occurred at fiscal year end for each of our Named Executive Officers, the amount listed in the Summary Compensation Table for the annual cash incentive would be paid to them.



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    For any Long Term Compensation Plan awards that are not vested (i.e., they are still within the three-year incentive cycle), a disabled participant would receive a prorated payment at the end of the three-year incentive cycle based on the portion of the period during which the participant was actively employed. Had a disability of our Named Executive Officers occurred at fiscal year end, they would have received 1/3 of the long term compensation cycle which ends on July 31, 2009 and 2/3 of the long term compensation cycle which ends on July 31, 2008 (see the Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table).

    In the event of a qualifying disability, payments under our non-qualified deferred compensation plans and Excess Pension Plan would be accelerated. A lump sum payment would be paid at disability. The amounts reflected in the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Table and Pension Benefits Table would have been payable as a lump sum in the event of the disability of a Named Executive Officer at the end of Fiscal 2007.

    Under the SERP, if a participant becomes disabled after 15 years of service and prior to age 62, they will receive a lump sum benefit from the Plan. If the Named Executive Officers had become disabled at the end of Fiscal 2007, they would have received the following lump sum from the plan:

    Name  SERP Benefit 


    William Cook   $3,942,161 
    Thomas VerHage   $0 
    Lowell Schwab   $990,080 
    Charles McMurray   $661,017 

    Voluntary Termination and Termination for Cause.    A Named Executive Officer is not entitled to receive any additional forms of severance payments or benefits upon his voluntary decision to terminate employment prior to being eligible for retirement or upon his termination by the Company for cause.

    Payments under our non-qualified deferred compensation plans and Excess Pension Plan would be paid according to the payment election made by the Named Executive Officer. The amounts reflected in the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Table and the Pension Benefits Table would have been payable according to the officer’s payment elections in the event of a termination at the end of Fiscal 2007. Under the SERP, a participant must be at least age 55 at termination of employment to be eligible to receive a benefit from the Plan. Had Mr. Schwab terminated at the end of the fiscal year, he would have received a SERP benefit of $990,080 payable in five annual installments beginning five years after his termination of employment. Since, Mr. Cook, Mr. VerHage and Mr. McMurray were not age 55 at the end of Fiscal 2007, there would be no SERP benefit payable to them if they had terminated at the end of the fiscal year.

    Potential Payments and Benefits upon Termination Following or in Connection with a Change in Control
             Upon the occurrence of a “change in control”, as generally defined below, whether or not there is a qualifying termination of employment:

    All outstanding unvested stock options will immediately vest and become exercisable. As of the end of Fiscal 2007, there were no outstanding unvested stock options for our Named Executive Officers.
    All shares of restricted stock will immediately vest and become unrestricted. As of the end of Fiscal 2007, Mr. VerHage is the only Named Executive Officer with unvested restricted stock.
    Any long term compensation plan incentive cycles would immediately vest and be paid out in a lump sum equal to the target incentive multiplied by the applicable earnings per share multiplier. 
    An amount equal to the excise taxes and income and employment taxes charged, if any, to the Named Executive Officer as a result of any change in control payments would be paid to the Named Executive Officer. 

    We have also entered into Change in Control Agreements (“CIC Agreements”) with each of the Named Executive Officers. Generally, a change in control includes the occurrence of any of the following events or circumstances:

    (a)The acquisition of 25% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s outstanding shares, other than any acquisition from or by the Company or any Company-sponsored employee benefit plan


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    (b)Consummation of a merger or other business consolidation of the Company other than a transaction where the Company’s pre-transaction shareholders retain at least 60% ownership of the surviving entity
    (c)A change in the Board of Directors composition in which the incumbent directors, meaning those directors who were not elected in a contested fashion, are no longer a majority of the Board. The CIC Agreements specify the circumstances under which a director is deemed to have been elected in a contested fashion
    (d)Approval of a plan of liquidation or dissolution or a consummated agreement for the sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets to an entity, unless the Company’s pre-transaction shareholders retain at least 60% ownership of the surviving entity

    The CIC Agreements provide that upon a qualifying termination of employment in connection with a change in control (see the Compensation Discussion and Analysis under the Change in Control Agreements for more information on a qualifying termination), in addition to the accelerated vesting of stock options and restricted stock and the Long Term Compensation Plan described above, each executive officer will receive:

    A lump sum severance payment, in cash, equal to three times the sum of the executive officer’s base salary at termination and the then applicable target annual cash incentive
    A lump sum of additional pension benefits equal to:
    °The value of the benefit under each pension plan assuming the benefit is fully vested and the executive had three additional years of benefit accrual; less
    °The value of the vested benefit accrued under the Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan, the Excess Pension Plan, and the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan
    36 months of continued health, life, disability, and accident benefits 
    Outplacement services suitable to the executive’s position for a period of three years or until the first acceptance of an employment offer if earlier than three years
    An amount equal to the excise taxes and income and employment taxes charged, if any, to the Named Executive Officer as a result of any change in control payments

    This table reflects the additional amounts per our CIC Agreements and the accelerated vesting of stock options, restricted stock and long term compensation awards that would be paid to our Named Executive Officers if a Change in Control had occurred and the officer had a qualifying termination of employment effective July 31, 2007:

      William Cook  Thomas VerHage  Lowell Schwab  Charles McMurray 




    Cash Severance   $3,780,000  $1,440,000  $1,528,800  $999,600 
    Equity              
    Long Term Compensation Plan(1)   $684,082  $260,321  $278,483  $139,242 
    Restricted Stock(2)   $0  $655,020  $0  $0 
    Stock Option   $0  $0  $0  $0 
    Retirement Program Payments(3)   $6,082,553  $866,807  $374,727  $1,492,230 
    Benefit Continuation(4)   $39,131  $35,927  $18,467  $24,479 
    Outplacement(5)   $75,000  $75,000  $75,000  $75,000 
    Excise Tax Gross Up   $3,535,226  $1,379,546  $0  $891,689 
    Total   $14,195,992  $4,712,621  $2,275,477  $3,622,240 

    (1)This amount represents the vesting of the two Long Term Compensation Plan cycles that are in process as of July 31, 2007. This assumes payment at target with the 25% increase for Earnings per Share achievement.
    (2)This amount represents the value of unvested Restricted Stock grant at the closing stock price at the end of the fiscal year.
    (3)This amount represents the lump sum value of additional pension benefits equal to:


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    The value of the benefit under each pension plan assuming the benefit is fully vested and the executive had three additional years of benefit accrual; less
    The value of the vested benefit accrued under the Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan, the Excess Pension Plan, and the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan
    (4)This amount represents the value of benefit continuation for three years based on our current premium levels.
    (5)This amount is based on the assumption that the Named Executive Officer would utilize $25,000 per year in outplacement services for the full three years.

    With a Change in Control followed by a termination within 24 months, any payments under the non-qualified deferred compensation plans described in the Compensation Discussion & Analysis and the discussion with the Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Table would become immediately payable to the participant in the form of a lump sum.

    With a Change in Control followed by a termination within 24 months, any payments under the Excess Pension Plan and SERP described in the Compensation Discussion & Analysis and the discussion with the Pension Table would also become immediately payable to the participant in the form of a lump sum. Under the Salaried Employees’ Pension Plan and the Excess Pension Plan, upon a change in control any accrued benefits become immediately vested. As of the end of Fiscal 2007, all Named Executive Officers are 100% vested under these plans with the exception of Mr. VerHage. The value of Mr. VerHage’s accrued benefit under these plans at the end of Fiscal 2007 is reflected in Retirement Program Benefits in the above table.

    SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

    Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires the Company’s directors and executive officers to file initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership with the SEC and the NYSE. To the Company’s knowledge, based on a review of copies of such forms and representations furnished to the Company during fiscal 2006,2007, all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to the Company’s directors and executive officers were satisfied except that one Form 4 reporting a company matching contribution of two shares into one reporting person’s employee benefit account was filed late.

    CHANGE-IN-CONTROL ARRANGEMENTS

    Each of the Named Officers has a severance agreement with the Company designed to retain the executive and provide for continuity of management in the event of an actual or threatened change of control in the Company (as defined in the agreements). The agreements provide that in the event of a change of control, each key employee would have specific rights and receive certain benefits if, within three years after a change in control, the employee is terminated without cause or the employee terminates voluntarily under “constructive involuntary” circumstances as defined in the agreement. In such circumstance the employee will receive a severance payment equal to three times the employee’s annual average compensation calculated over the five years preceding such termination as well as continued health, disability and life insurance for three years after termination. The awards issued under the stock compensation plans, the supplementary retirement benefit plan and the deferred compensation plan also provide for immediate vesting or payment in the event of termination under circumstances of a change in control.that:

     By OrderWe filed a Form 4 on behalf of the BoardGeert Henk Touw on October 27, 2006 to report a sale on October 17, 2006 of Directors
    16,000 shares by Mr. Touw’s spouse and a separate sale on October 17, 2006 of 14,619 shares by Mr. Touw.

     Norman C. Linnell
    Secretary
    We filed a Form 4 on behalf of Charles McMurray on March 26, 2007 to report the disposition of 1,362 shares on March 19, 2007 pursuant to the vesting of a restricted stock grant and the payment of tax liability by withholding the shares.

    By Order of the Board of Directors

    Norman C. Linnell
    Secretary

    October 9, 20065, 2007















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    APPENDIX A

    DONALDSON COMPANY, INC.
    AUDIT COMMITTEE CHARTER

    Mission Statement

    The Audit Committee will assist the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight of (1) the integrity of the Company’s financial statements, (2) the Company’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) the independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of the Company’s internal audit function and independent auditors; and will prepare the report that SEC rules require be included in the Company’s annual proxy statement. The Committee also will carry out its duties and responsibilities to retain and terminate the Company’s independent auditors and to conduct an annual performance evaluation of the Audit Committee.

    While the Audit Committee has the oversight responsibilities and powers set forth in this charter, the Committee does not itself prepare financial statements or perform audits, and its members are not auditors or certifiers of the Company’s financial statements. This is the responsibility of management and the Company’s independent auditor.

    Organization

    The Committee will be organized consistent with the following significant parameters:

    Size of the committee:    The Committee will have no less than three members.

    Qualifications:    Committee members must be Non-employee Directors who meet the independence and experience requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange and applicable law.

    Frequency of Meetings:    The Committee will have no less than four regularly scheduled meetings each fiscal year. In addition, the Committee will meet at other times if deemed necessary to discharge completely its duties and responsibilities as outlined in this charter.

    Appointment of Members and Chairperson:    Each Committee member and the Chairperson will be recommended by the Corporate Governance Committee and shall be elected by vote of the Board of Directors to serve a term of one year. Committee members and the Chairperson may serve successive one-year terms without limitation.

    Oversight

    Internal Controls and Disclosure Controls:

    1.Review the appointment, performance and replacement of the senior internal audit executive.
    2.Review the internal auditor’s reports and findings on internal audit activities and the major issues as to the adequacy of the Company’s internal controls.
    3.Review the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures for its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Financial Reporting:

    1.Review the Company’s policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management.
    2.Review major issues regarding accounting principles and financial statement presentations, including any significant change in the Company’s selection or application of accounting principles.
    3.Review analyses prepared by management and/or the independent auditor setting forth the Company’s critical accounting policies and estimates, and significant financial reporting issues and judgments made in connection with the preparation of the financial statements, including analyses of the effects of alternative GAAP methods on the financial statements.


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    4.Review the effect on the financial statements of regulatory and accounting initiatives and off-balance sheet structures.
    5.Review the annual financial statements, including the Company’s disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” with management and the independent auditors prior to the filing or release of such financial statements, including confirmation that the Committee (i) discussed with the external auditors the matters requiring discussion by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, and (ii) received the written report from the external auditors required by Independence Standards Board Statement No. 1. Based on these reviews and discussions, recommend to the Board of Directors that the audited financial statements be included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC.
    6.Review and approve the process for reviewing and discussing with management and the independent auditors the quarterly financial statements, including the Company’s disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” either through the Committee as a whole or through the Chairperson.

    Compliance with Laws, Regulations and Company Policies:
    1.Review the Company’s compliance system (including, but not limited to, a code of ethics for senior financial officers).
    2.Review the Committee’s charter on an annual basis and recommend any proposed changes to the Board of Directors for approval.
    3.Affirmatively determine that the Committee members are independent as required by the “Qualifications” section of this charter.

    Relationship with Independent Auditor:
    1.The Committee has the ultimate authority and responsibility to select and evaluate the independent auditor, approve all audit engagement terms and fees to be paid to such firm, and terminate such firm when circumstances warrant, and the independent auditor shall be accountable to and report to the Committee.
    2.Evaluate the independent auditor’s qualifications, performance and independence on an ongoing basis, but no less frequently than once per year.
    3.Review and approve the scope of the external audit to be performed each fiscal year.
    4.Set policies and procedures for, and, as appropriate, approve the engagement of, the independent auditor for any non-audit service (to the extent such service is not prohibited) and the fee for such service, and consider whether the independent auditor’s performance of any non-audit services is compatible with its independence.
    5.Review with the independent auditor any audit problems or difficulties the independent auditor may have encountered in the course of the audit work and any management letter provided by the independent auditor, and management’s response (including any restrictions on the scope of the independent auditor’s activities or on access to requested information and any significant disagreements with management).
    6.At least annually, obtain and review a report by the independent auditor describing:
    the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures;
    any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the independent auditor’s firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years, respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm, and any steps taken to deal with such issues; and (to assess the auditor’s independence)
    all relationships between the independent auditor and the Company.

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    Other Responsibilities:
    1.Set clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditor.
    2.Review procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the Company regarding accounting, internal controls or auditing matters, and the confidential, anonymous submissions by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters.
    3.Meet separately, periodically, with management, with internal auditors and with the independent auditor in executive sessions.
    4.Discuss generally with management earnings press releases and financial information and earnings guidance provided through public disclosures under the New York Stock Exchange requirements and applicable law.
    5.Prepare the Committee report for inclusion in the Company’s annual proxy statement.
    6.Conduct an annual performance evaluation of the Committee.
    7.As appropriate, obtain advice and assistance from outside legal, accounting or other advisors. In this regard, the Committee will have authority to:
    conduct or authorize investigations into any matters within its scope of responsibilities;
    engage outside auditors for special audits, reviews and other procedures;
    retain special counsel and other experts and consultants to advise the Committee and meet with any representative of the Company; and
    approve the fees and other retention terms for such parties.
    8.Report regularly to the full Board of Directors regarding the significant items of discussion at each Committee meeting.











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    Donaldson Company, Inc. Annual Meeting of Stockholders
    Friday, November 17, 2006,16, 2007, at 1:00 p.m.
    Held at the Corporate Offices
    of
    Donaldson Company, Inc., Campus West (new location)
    14002001 West 94th Street, Suite 103
    Minneapolis, Minnesota














     



    Table of Contents



    DONALDSON COMPANY, INC.

    ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

     

    November 17, 200616, 2007

     

    1:00 p.m., Central Time

     

    Donaldson Company, Inc., Inc. Campus West (new location)

    14002001 West 94th Street, Suite 103

    Minneapolis, Minnesota



    Your telephone or Internet vote authorizes the Named Proxies to vote your shares

    in the same manner as if you marked, signed and returned your proxy card.



     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

       Donaldson Company, Inc.

    Proxy

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The undersigned appoints WILLIAM M. COOK, NORMAN C. LINNELL and AMY C. BECKER, and each of them, as Proxies, each with the power to appoint a substitute, to represent and vote, as designated on the reverse side, all shares of the undersigned at the 20062007 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Donaldson Company, Inc. at Donaldson Company, Inc. Campus West (new location), 14002001 West 94th Street, Suite 103, Minneapolis, Minnesota, at 1:00 p.m., Central Time, on Friday, November 17, 2006,16, 2007, and at any adjournment thereof.

     

    In their discretion, the Proxies are authorized to vote upon such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.

     

    THIS PROXY WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED OR, IF NO DIRECTION IS GIVEN, WILL BE VOTEDFOR EACH PROPOSAL. THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, DONALDSON COMPANY, INC.

     

     

     

     

     


       Address Changes/Comments:   ___________________________________________________________________

       ___________________________________________________________________________________________

     

     

    (If you noted any Address Changes/Comments above, please mark corresponding box on the reverse side.)

     

    (Continued, and to be signed and dated on other side)

     

     

     

     


     



    Table of Contents


    DONALDSON COMPANY, INC.

    P.O. BOX 1299

    MINNEAPOLIS,  MN  55440-1299

     


    PLEASE VOTE PROMPTLY

    If you vote by Phone or Internet, please do not mail your Proxy Card


    VOTE BY INTERNET - www.proxyvote.com

    Use the Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information up until 11:59 P.M. (Central time) on November 16, 2006.15, 2007. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web site and follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an electronic voting instruction form.

     

    ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF FUTURE SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS

    If you would like to reduce the costs incurred by Donaldson Company, Inc. in mailing proxy materials, you can consent to receiving all future proxy statements, proxy cards and annual reports electronically via e-mail or the Internet. To sign up for electronic delivery, please follow the instructions above to vote using the Internet and, when prompted, indicate that you agree to receive or access shareholder communications electronically in future years.

     

    VOTE BY PHONE - 1-800-690-6903

    Use any touch-tone telephone to transmit your voting instructions up until 11:59 P.M. (Central time) on November 16, 2006.15, 2007. Have your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the instructions.

     

    VOTE BY MAIL

    Mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we have provided or return it to Donaldson Company, Inc., c/o ADP,Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717.

     

     

    TO VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS FOLLOWS:

    DONCO1    

    KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDS

     

    THIS PROXY CARD IS VALID ONLY WHEN SIGNED AND DATED.

    DETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLY

    DONALDSON COMPANY, INC.

     

    The Board of Directors recommends votes FOR:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Vote on Directors

     

    For
    All

    Withhold
    All

    For All
    Except

     

    To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark “For All Except” and write the name(s) of the nominee(s) on the line below.

     

    1.

    Election of directors:

    01   Jack W. EugsterWilliam M. Cook

    02   John F. GrundhoferMichael J. Hoffman

    03   Paul David MillerWillard D. Oberton

    04   John P. Wiehoff

    o

    o

    o

       

     

     


    Vote on Proposal

    For

    Against

    Abstain

     

     

     

     

     

    2.

    Ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as Donaldson Company, Inc’s independent
    registered accounting firm.firm to audit the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending
    July 31, 2008.

    o

    o

    o

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    PLEASE DATE AND SIGN BELOW exactly as name appears, indicating, if appropriate, official position or representative capacity. If stock is held in joint tenancy, each joint owner should sign.

     

     

     

     

     

    For address changes and/or comments, please check this box
    and write them on the back where indicated.

    o

     


     

    Yes

    No

    Please indicate if you planwould like to attend this meeting.keep your
      vote confidential under the current policy.

    o

    o

     

     

     

      Please indicate if you plan to attend this meeting.

    Yeso

    Noo


     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX]

    Date

     

    Signature (Joint Owners)

    Date