Bombardier, 1942 Canada, aeronautical manufacturer information

Name: Bombardier
Country: Canada
Founded: 1942

Bombardier Inc is a Canadian manufacturer of business jets based in Montreal. The company, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, was founded in 1942 by Joseph-Armand Bombardier as L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée.

The company, which started out as a manufacturer of snowmobiles, expanded into the production of rail vehicles in the 1970s and into the aerospace sector in the 1990s. At the peak of its growth phase in 2014, the company employed 73,800 people worldwide and achieved a turnover of 20.1 billion US dollars.

Problems with the new development of the CSeries aircraft family had led to the accumulation of high debts. This initially led to considerable state aid and later to the sale of significant parts of the company. Following the sale of Bombardier Transportation, the part of the group active in rail technology, which was completed in January 2021, the company now operates exclusively in the business jet sector.

Bombardier history

In 1931, mechanic Joseph-Armand Bombardier developed his first snowmobile in his workshop in Valcourt, Quebec. In 1937, he sold twelve snowmobiles of the B7 type, which resembled the size of a small car: the wooden body had four or more seats or a cargo space in addition to the driver's cabin. In 1941, a new manufacturing plant was opened in Valcourt.

On May 8, 1942, Bombardier founded the company L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée. At the time, most vehicles were hardly suited for snow, and with streets rarely plowed, his snowmobiles became a significant help to the local population for transport during the winter months.

In 1948, the province of Quebec passed a law requiring snow removal on all local roads and highways. This led to a 50% drop in snowmobile sales. Bombardier then began developing snowplows and all-terrain vehicles for the oil and forestry industries. Starting in the late 1950s, Bombardier began building small, lightweight, fast, and maneuverable snowmobiles for two passengers. In 1959, the first newly developed sporty snowmobile was launched. On February 18, 1964, founder Joseph-Armand Bombardier passed away. In 1967, the company was restructured into Bombardier Limited, and on January 23, 1969, it was listed on the stock exchanges in Montreal and Toronto.

In 1970, Bombardier entered the rail vehicle business by acquiring the Austrian Lohner Works, which at the time produced streetcars for the Austrian market. In 1975, Bombardier bought Montreal Locomotive Works, followed by Alco Power Inc. in 1985. In 1995, Bombardier acquired Talbot Wagon Factory in Aachen, and in 1998, Deutsche Waggonbau. In 2001, Bombardier took over DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems (Adtranz).

By the late 1980s, the Aerospace division was created as a result of rapid acquisitions of many companies that were either already bankrupt or on the verge of bankruptcy. Bombardier continued to develop existing models and, by the mid-2000s, introduced new models, including the Global series and the C Series.

Since around 2014, the company faced increasing financial problems. A significant cause was delays in the development of the "C Series" aircraft. The development of the aircraft took much more time and money than planned, leading to high debt levels for the company. In 2015, the Quebec provincial government took a 49.5% stake in the project and invested $1 billion USD into the partnership. In 2017, Airbus took a majority stake in the program. The aircraft was renamed the Airbus A220, and the company producing the aircraft was named Airbus Canada. In February 2020, Airbus took 75% ownership of the project, with the other partner being the provincial government, and Bombardier was no longer involved. As of 2019, the company still had 70 locations in 25 countries.

Bombardier aircrafts

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