The Bombardier Story: From Snowmobiles To Global Transportation Powerhouse, Second Edition

"When Joseph-Armand Bombardier invented the snowmobile in 1937, little did he know that his company would become a manufacturing powerhouse in the global transportation industry. As of 2001, Bombardier Inc. was number one in railway equipment, number two in recreational vehicles, and number three in civil aircraft." The Bombardier Story tells the tale of a company riding the ups and downs of a six-decade journey to the top. In the early 1970s, the Ski-Doo snowmobile accounted for over 90 percent of the company's revenue (one model was so popular that Canada Post even produced a commemorative stamp). But the rest of the 1970s were stormy times for Bombardier as rising energy prices, a maturing snowmobile market, and major economic forces sent the entire industry into a downward spiral. The Bombardier Story describes how close to ruin the company came, and how it survived a drastic shakeout that reduced the number of players in the snowmobile industry from over 100 to just three.

Larry MacDonald is a business journalist who writes for The Globe and Mail, Canadian Business, MoneySense and other publications. He is also the author of two other books, Outperforming the Market (ECW Press, 1998) and Nortel Networks (John Wiley & Sons, 2000).