Joseph Armand Bombardier

Joseph Armand Bombardier, an entrepreneur and an inventor came up with an idea that would change Canada’s winters forever. The idea of a vehicle that moved on snow. At the age of 19, Bombardier was able to offer Canada something new and exciting - the snowmobile. The snowmobile wasn’t the only thing Joseph Bombardier has on his agenda. He had his mind set on, other industrial vehicles such as a tractor that was used in forestry and farming. The VFB skidder and the BPU delimber specifically developed for transporting wood, to fell trees, remove their branches, cut lengths, load the logs onto the transport vehicle platform and chip branches. His inventions and his positive attitude was able to shape the identity of Canada worldwide.

Joseph Armand Bombardier was born in April 16^th, 1907 in Valcourt, Quebec. As Bombardier grew up and reached his teen years he had a talent for dissembling and reassembling mechanical toys. At the age of 13, he assembled his first mechanical toy - a miniature locomotive driven by a clock mechanism. Other mobile toys that he worked on were tractors and boats. As the time went by Alfred Bombardier, Joseph’s father gave him an old Model T Ford motor that was considered "irreparable." Joseph with the help of his brother Leopold was able to fix this Model T Ford into a design of his own. Though his father was impressed by Joseph’s hard work and pride that he had toward mechanism, he sends him to pursue studies at Sherbrooke’s Seminaire Saint - Charles - Borromee College near Valcourt at the age of 14.

Upon his return to Valcourt at the age of 15 for a winter break, he was able to go back to the shop and continue his invention - the snowmobile. Even though he knew that going to this college wouldn’t help him. He didn’t want to be a priest(which was a tradition in his families household), a doctor or a farmer, but rather a good mechanic. At age 17 he was able to obtain his father’s permission to quit college and start an apprenticeship in a Montreal garage. Now his whole life was set. This apprenticeship taught him English, he was able to take mechanical and electrical engineering courses, sciences and technology that he can get his hands on. Now Joseph has a bright future ahead of him.

The day Joseph turned 19. He returned to Valcourt in 1926 to open his own garage. With the help of his father Alfred and his family. Joseph had his own garage in no time. Just being 19, Joseph had so much success that he was widely known throughout the region. People came to his shop because he was able to work with cars, bench saws, and agricultural pumps. By 1929 he was able to pay his father back. With the winter on his front step, he immediately went to work on his snowmobile. He had to come up with a light enough vehicles that would be able to travel on snow.

In the same year, Joseph finally met his match and got married to Yvonne Labrecque. Yvonne gave birth to a son named Yvon, which passed away at the age of two in the winter of 1934 from peritonitis. Even though he lost his son he was still able to move on and come up with his newest inventions. In 1935 the sprocket and track system were his next major inventions. Pretty soon automobile manufactures were coming up to him and asking him to sell his merchandise. The Garage Bombardier was now expanding. It followed him by the first seven production snowmobiles which emerged in the winter of 1936-37. The name of the snowmobile was B7. The B stands for Bombardier while the number 7 stands for the number of passengers that are able to fit in.

Having one of the most successful businesses ever, Bombardier was asked by the Canadian Authorities and the Canadian Forces to develop a prototype of an armored tracked vehicle. In total they wanted 130 vehicles to be done in four months and are able to travel on snow. In no time Bombardier had his work set out for him. He was able to construct a vehicle that was good enough for the forces. He named it " The Penguin." Despite the war, Joseph had new things on his mind. By the year 1952 he invented the TTA ( Tractor Tracking Attachment), which was normally sold all around the world to tractor manufacturers in North America, Europe and South America. From all the vehicles he has invented he considers the Muskeg his greatest success of the era. The Muskeg was a vehicle which can travel in swampy like areas without getting stuck at all. As the time progressed and his company got better Bombardier was on his way to stardom. Even though he was already a successful business man, he came up with a snowmobile just perfect for the winters around the world. The invention was a Ski-Doo Snowmobile.

The Ski-Doo Snowmobile was very successful which brought in $ 3.5 million of sales and $850 000 profits in the year of 1958-59. But that didn’t stop him there, he always had something on his mind and always wanted to work on something new. So that’s why he came up with a miniature snowmobile. The $ 900 vehicle is now sold all around the world. But, snowmobiles and tractors weren’t the only thing that Joseph Bombardier has come up with. He also had ideas for aircraft. Bombardier developed his own aerospace which is widely know today. This aerospace is widely known and it is used every day. Bombardiers life was an all time success. He came up with the best snowmobiles, tractors and air planes that are used every day. His dream was to make Canada happy by developing something new and interesting that would make every winter unforgettable. His long time dream of having an even greater business ended when he died on February 18^th, 1964 at the age of 56. Not only being the entrepreneur and the inventor he was, he was also active in the community. He served as a municipal councillor, found council 3207 of Valcourt Knights of Columbus, which earned him the title "Knight of Saint - Gregoire-le-Grand for his support of Church endeavors. Joseph Bombardier will always be known as man with many talents and his inventions that has made an impact in the world today.