This article is about the manufacturing company. For the military rank, see Bombardier (rank). For the crew member of a bomber airplane, see Bombardier (air force)
Bombardier Inc. ( IPA /bɔ̃baʁdje/) TSX: BBD.SV.B TSX: BBD.MV.A, a Canadian company, was founded by Joseph-Armand Bombardier as L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée in 1942, at Valcourt in the Eastern Townships, Québec. It is a large manufacturer of regional aircraft, business jets, and railway cars. Its headquarters are in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Corporate Headquarters 800 boulevard René-Lévesque ouest Montréal, Québec Canada
Fields of Activity Rail transportation equipment Regional and business aircraft Financial services Heavy and light recreational equipments
Number of employees (as of January 31, 2005) Transportation: 31,570 Aerospace: 27,100 Bombardier Capital: 630 Other: 250 TOTAL: 59,550
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.