Bombardier: Encyclopedia II - Bombardier - History

Bombardier - History

Joseph-Armand Bombardier was a shy, determined mechanic who dreamed of building a vehicle that could 'float on snow'. In 1937, the first snowmobile rolled out of his small repair shop in Valcourt, Quebec. Over the years, Bombardier continued to perfect his dream and found that winter-bound Canadians were eager to come along for the ride. Bombardier changed the way we travel over snow and he established a Canadian manufacturing giant along the way.

Born in 1907, Joseph-Armand Bombardier showed a genius for tinkering early in life. He was only 10 years old when he took a cigar box and a broken alarm clock and made a working model of a tractor. As he grew older, Armand dreamt of building a vehicle that could glide over snow—a fitting goal for a boy growing up in rural Valcourt. At 15, Armand designed and built his first snow vehicle which was basically a large sleigh powered by a Ford Model T engine with a wooden airplane propeller at the back. He and his brother drove the noisy contraption through Valcourt before their father ordered them to stop. Undeterred, Armand kept working on his idea while he earned a living as an auto mechanic. His big breakthrough came in the mid-1930s when he developed a drive system that would revolutionise travel in snow and swamp. In 1937, Armand sold 12 snowmobiles—named the B7—and opened the company l'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée five years later.

J. Armand Bombardier never intended his snowmobile invention to be fun. The first snowmobiles were large, multi-passenger vehicles designed to help people get around during the long winter months. Snowmobiles are used in rural Quebec to take children to school, to carry freight, to deliver mail, and as ambulances. His invention served a very real necessity and soon business was booming. In 1941, Armand opened a large new factory in Valcourt. Then a major setback hit the growing business: the Second World War was well underway and the Canadian government issued wartime rationing regulations. Suddenly, Bombardier customers had to prove that snowmobiles were essential to their livelihood in order to buy one. To keep his business going, Armand switched gears and developed vehicles for the military. After the war, Armand experienced another setback in his snowmobile business. In 1948 the Quebec government passed a law requiring all highways and local roads to be cleared of snow; Bombardier's sales fell by nearly half in one year. Armand decided to diversify his business and make all-terrain vehicles for the mining, oil, and forestry industries.

Bombardier was an inventor who never rested. By the late 1940s, the quiet French Canadian had survived several setbacks and had a modestly successful small business centred in Québec. But Armand was not satisfied with the status quo and dreamt of developing a fast, lightweight snowmobile (the Ski-doo) that could carry one or two people. He worked tirelessly on his idea but always found the engine too heavy for the vehicle. In the early 1950s, Armand set aside his dream to focus on developing his company's other tracked vehicles. But by the end of the decade, smaller, more efficient engines had been developed and were starting to come on the market. Armand resumed his efforts to build a 'miniature' snowmobile. He worked alongside his eldest son Germain, who shared his father's mechanical talents. Armand and Germain developed several prototypes of the lightweight snowmobile and finally the first Ski-Doo went on sale in 1959.

The Ski-Doo became an instant hit but not for the reasons imagined by J. Armand Bombardier. The Ski-Doo was originally called the Ski-Dog because Bombardier meant it to be a practical vehicle to replace the dogsled for hunters and trappers. But the public soon discovered the speedy vehicles that can zoom over snow were a lot of fun. Suddenly a new winter sport was born, centred in Quebec. In the first year, Bombardier sold 225 Ski-Doos; four years later, 8,210 are sold. But Armand was reluctant to focus too much on the Ski-Doo and move resources away from his all-terrain vehicles. He vividly remembered his earlier business setbacks that forced him to diversify. Armand slowed down promotion of Ski-Doo to prevent it from dominating the other products.

On February 18, 1964, J. Armand Bombardier died of cancer at age 56. He left behind a thriving business, but also one that had been focused on one person. Armand dominated his company, overseeing all areas of operation. He controlled the small research department, making all the drawings himself. Now the younger generation took over and was led by Armand's sons and sons-in-law. The young team reorganized and decentralized the company, adopting modern business tactics. The company adopted the latest technological innovation—the computer—to handle inventory, accounts, and billing. Distribution networks were improved and increased, and an incentive program was developed for sales staff.

Joseph had the ability to overcome great odds in his life to develop a company that laid a solid foundation for the creation of a transportation giant. He had a unique ability for an inventor which was to parlay his inventions into a successful business. By the time of his death sales of the company had reached C$20 million, which is the equivalent of C$160 million in 2004 dollars. During his lifetime the province of Québec had been economically dominated by the top anglophone businessmen and socially by the Catholic Church, with very limited opportunities for francophone businesspeople. He was able to overcome these obstacles through sheer determination and inventiveness.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki