The Bombardier Story: From Snowmobiles to Global Transportation Powerhouse

ISBN-13: 9781118482940 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 320 str.

Larry MacDonald

Opis

The story of the company that was founded by the inventor of the snowmobile In 1942, Joseph-Armand Bombardier invented the snowmobile and founded his company to manufacture them. From its humble beginnings as an entrepreneurial company in rural Quebec, led by an enterprising inventor, Bombardier Inc. has emerged as a global leader in the transportation industry. This book tells the fascinating tale of this remarkably well managed company that has enjoyed spectacular growth in its chosen markets through strong leadership and management strategy, succession planning, strategic diversification, and turnaround and acquisition artistry.

• The fascinating story of the world's largest rail manufacturer for both railway and subway
• Reveals why Bombardier Inc. is a multi-faceted global company yet nobody knows their name
• Written by Larry MacDonald the author of Nortel Network

The Bombardier Story shows how invention and entrepreneurship, management and leadership, smooth succession planning, and turnaround and acquisition built this global powerhouse.

Spis treści

Acknowledgments ix

A Brief History of Bombardier Inc. xi

Preface xix

Introduction: The Rise of a Corporation 1

A Meteoric Rise 1

The Architects of Success 6

Bombardier Today 8

PART ONE 13

Chapter 1: Joseph–Armand Starts a Company: The 1940s and 1950s 15

Humble Beginnings 15

The Bombardier Snowmobile 16

Inventions and Innovations 25

Chapter 2: The Ski–Doo Adventure: The Golden Age of the 1960s 34

The Family Takes Over 34

A Marketing Renewal 39

Ski–Doo Fever 42

Vertical Integration 46

The First Sea–Doo 49

PART TWO 53

Chapter 3: Diversify or Die: The 1970s 55

A Challenging Decade 55

Taking a New Turn: Rail Transportation 59

The Montreal Subway 61

The Acquisition of MLW–Worthington 67

Chapter 4: The Deal of the Century: The New York City Subway (1982) 73

A Golden Opportunity 73

A Contested Victory 78

The Tools for Success 84

The Royer Way of Doing Things 86

The BMS 91

A Major Breakthrough 97

Tempest in a Teapot 101

The Value of Proven Technologies 104

A Welcome Boost 107

Chapter 5: New Frontiers: Transportation in the 1980s and 1990s 110

The North American Market 110

Full Speed Ahead 112

A Rocky Start for the LRC 114

The Vagaries of High–Speed in America 117

The Disney Monorail 124

The Acquisition of UTDC 125

Capturing the European Market 129

The Chunnel Odyssey 133

Taking Over by Storm: From Talbot to Adtranz 137

PART THREE 143

Chapter 6: Aerospace Takes Off 145

A Bold Move 145

Early Attempts to Diversify: The Automotive Sector 149

The Acquisition of Canadair (1986) 151

Good Things Come in Threes: Shorts, Learjet, and de Havilland 156

Portrait of a Turnaround Artist 165

Power in Numbers: Synergizing Operations 171

Chapter 7: Revolution in the Sky: The Move Toward Regional Jets 176

The Rise of Airline Hubs 176

From Challenger to CRJ 179

A New Captain Steers Aerospace Group 186

Bombardier Takes Off 192

Dogfight in the Clouds 196

Inside the Pro–ex Saga 201

An Affair of State 205

Government Support 208

Chapter 8: Spreading Its Wings 216

The Global Express Business Jet (1991 1996) 216

Diversification Delivers 225

PART FOUR 229

Chapter 9: Two Turbulent Decades at Valcourt 231

The Ski–Doo Loses Speed 231

Pierre Beaudoin and the Return of the Sea–Doo (1988) 233

Extreme Snowmobiling and Innovation 238

Acquisition of Outboard Marine Corporation (2001) 241

Chapter 10: Lessons in Strategic Governance 244

The Éminence Grise 244

Decentralization 248

Management Tools 253

An Evolving Structure 256

Chapter 11: Handing Over the Reins 259

Robert Brown Takes Charge 259

The Impact of September 2001 264

Tellier Joins Bombardier 265

An Unexpected Comeback 270

Pierre Takes the Helm and CSeries Aircraft Takes Off 273

Laurent Beaudoin s Legacy 276

Endnotes 279

Index 293

O autorze

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).

Blurb

When Joseph–Armand Bombardier introduced his Ski–Doo snowmobile in 1959, little did he know that his company would become a manufacturing powerhouse in the global transportation industry as of 2013, Bombardier Inc. was number one in railway equipment and number three in civil aircraft. Bombardier is the world′s only manufacturer of both planes and trains.

Today, Bombardier products are everywhere. Millions of people travel daily on Bombardier subway cars, automated metros, and commuter trains that run around the world in cities such as New York City, Toronto, Chicago, Vancouver, Mexico City, and Kuala Lumpur. Hundreds of thousands travel to vacation and business destinations each year aboard Bombardier′s intercity trains such as the Acela (a high–speed passenger service on Amtrak′s Boston–Washington corridor), and on Bombardier′s regional jets. Thousands of busy executives fly every day in Learjet, Challenger, and Global Express business jets made by Bombardier. And hundreds of thousands enjoy their leisure hours at play on Ski–Doo snowmobiles and Sea–Doo watercraft, manufactured since 2003 by BRP, an independent company which is co–owned by the Bombardier family.