. this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information . please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject s importance use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance . january 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message bombardier inc. type public traded as tsx bbd.a bbd.b otcqx bdrbf s & p tsx 60 component industry aerospace defense railways founded valcourt quebec canada 29 january 1942 1 founder joseph armand bombardier headquarters montreal quebec canada area served worldwide key people pierre beaudoin bombardier inc. chairman alain bellemare bombardier inc. ceo laurent troger bombardier transportation president and coo products aircraft trains trams revenue cad 21.84 billion 2013 us 18.2 billion net income cad 4.08 billion 2013 us 3.4 billion total assets cad 83.64 billion 2013 us 69.7 billion 2 number of employees 65 698 2011 website www.bombardier.com bombardier inc. french pronunciation b ba dje is a canadian multinational aerospace and transportation company . starting as a maker of snow machines or snowmobiles over the years it has grown into a large manufacturer of regional airliners business jets mass transportation equipment recreational equipment and a provider of financial services . bombardier is a fortune global 500 conglomerate company . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 aerospace 1.2 railway technology 1.3 financial services 2 divestitures 2.1 military 2.2 recreational products 2.3 public transport bus 3 bombardier museums 4 see also 5 references 6 bibliography 7 external links history edit bombardier snowmobile built in 1952 bombardier was founded by joseph armand bombardier as l auto neige bombardier limit e loosely translated to bombardier snow car limited on january 29 1942 at valcourt in the eastern townships quebec . 1 a mechanic who dreamed of building a vehicle that could float on snow citation needed in 1937 bombardier designed and produced his first snowmobile in a small valcourt quebec repair shop . 4 bombardier s technological breakthrough in the design of bush vehicles came in the mid 1930s when he developed a drive system that revolutionized travel in snow and swampy conditions . in 1937 bombardier sold 12 snowmobiles named the b7 and in 1942 created l auto neige bombardier limit e company . the first snowmobiles were large multipassenger vehicles designed to help people get around during the long winter months . snowmobiles were used in rural quebec to take children to school carry freight deliver mail and as ambulances . his invention filled a very particular need in the region and soon business was booming . in 1941 armand opened a new factory in valcourt . then a major setback hit the growing business the second world war was well underway and the canadian government issued wartime rationing regulations . bombardier customers had to prove that snowmobiles were essential to their livelihood in order to buy one . to keep his business going armand shifted his focus and developed vehicles for the military . after the war bombardier experienced another setback in his snowmobile business . in 1948 the quebec government passed a law requiring all highways and local roads to be cleared of snow ; the bombardier company s sales fell by nearly half in one year . armand bombardier therefore decided to diversify his business first by producing tracked snowplows sized specifically for use on municipal sidewalks replacing horse drawn vehicles then by making all terrain vehicles for the mining oil and forestry industries . of note the machines had removable front skis that could be replaced with front wheels for use on paved or hard surfaces thus providing greater utility to his large snowmobiles . production of these machines evolved over time . during 1951 the wooden bodies were replaced with sheet steel and these vehicles were powered by chrysler flathead six cylinder engines and 3 speed manual transmissions . in the 1960s v 8 engines began to appear and during the 1969 1970 production years the standard round porthole style windows were replaced with larger rectangular windows which allowed more interior light and made them feel less claustrophobic . following these changes came the switchover to more reliable chrysler industrial 318 engines with the automatic loadflite transmissions . production of these machines continued into the mid 1970s . bombardier wanted to develop a fast lightweight snowmobile that could carry one or two people . in the early 1950s armand set aside his dream to focus on developing his company s other tracked vehicles but by the end of the decade smaller more efficient engines had been developed and were starting to come onto the market . bombardier resumed his efforts to build a miniature snowmobile . he worked alongside his eldest son germain who shared his father s mechanical talents . armand and germain developed several prototypes of the lightweight snowmobile and finally the first bombardier snowmobile went on sale in 1959 . bombardier br100 groomer mid engine hard cab model the ski doo snowmobile was originally called the ski dog because bombardier meant it to be a practical vehicle to replace the dogsled for hunters and trappers . by an accident a painter misinterpreted the name and painted ski doo on the first prototype . 5 the public soon discovered that speedy vehicles that could zoom over snow were a lot of fun . suddenly a new winter sport was born centred in quebec . in the first year bombardier sold 225 ski doos ; four years later 8 210 were sold . but armand was reluctant to focus too much on the ski doo and move resources away from his all terrain vehicles . he vividly remembered his earlier business setbacks that forced him to diversify . armand slowed down promotion of the ski doo line to prevent it from dominating the other company products while still allowing him to dominate the snowmobile industry . the snowmobiles produced were of exceptional quality and performance earning a better reputation than the rival polaris and arctic cat brand of motosleds . in 1975 bombardier completed the purchase of the moto ski company . on february 18 1964 j. armand bombardier died of cancer at age 56 . he left behind a thriving business but also one that had been focused on one person . armand dominated his company overseeing all areas of operation . he controlled the small research department making all the drawings himself . by the time of his death sales of the company had reached c 20 million which is the equivalent of c 160 million in 2004 dollars . the younger generation took over led by armand s sons and sons in law . the young team reorganized and decentralized the company adopting modern business tactics . the company adopted the latest technological innovation the computer to handle inventory accounts and billing . distribution networks were improved and increased and an incentive program was developed for sales staff . in 1967 l auto neige bombardier limit e was renamed bombardier limited and on january 23 1969 the company went public listing on the montreal and toronto stock exchanges . aerospace edit a bombardier cseries in swiss livery main article bombardier aerospace bd 700 landing at montreal international airport bombardier cseries cs100 flight test vehicle ftv1 at mirabel in 1986 6 bombardier acquired canadair after the canadian government owned aircraft manufacturing company recorded the largest corporate loss in canadian history . shortly thereafter de havilland canada short brothers and learjet operations were absorbed by the aerospace arm which now accounts for over half of company revenue . bombardier s most popular aircraft currently include its dash 8 crj100 200 440 and crj700 900 1000 lines of regional airliners . bombardier also manufactures the cl 415 amphibious water bomber the global express and the challenger business jet . learjet continues to operate as a subsidiary of bombardier manufacturing jets under the learjet marque . the slogan was changed in 2012 from we move people to evolution of mobility . after delay in its development bombardier cseries came into competition with the smaller airplanes in the airbus a320 family and the boeing 737 family in 2016 . on june 29 2016 bombardier delivered the first cseries planes to swiss international air lines which was the first to start flying them . 7 the cs300 is the largest plane offered by bombardier with up to 160 seats . railway technology edit main article bombardier transportation iore locomotive in 1970 bombardier acquired the austrian company lohner rotax a manufacturer of snowmobile engines and tramways and became involved with rail business . this section started to gain importance in the mid 1990s in the renaissance of tramways or light rail transit . bombardier acquired the assets and designs of budd company pullman company and american locomotive company montreal locomotive works the latter of which continued in the locomotive business until 1985 . in the canadian market they also acquired hawker siddeley canada s thunder bay facilities and utdc formerly of kingston and in mexico the company acquired concarril . in 2001 bombardier acquired adtranz daimlerchrysler rail systems a manufacturer of trains which were widely used throughout germany and great britain . bombardier was one of the companies that took over british rail s research and development facilities after privatisation the remainder largely being absorbed into aea technology and alstom . with the acquisition of adtranz from daimlerchrysler bombardier transportation emerged as one of the largest manufacturers of railway rolling stock in the world . financial services edit bombardier capital bc was the bombardier division in charge of financial services . 8 from 1973 when it was based in colchester vermont 9 it offered financial services such as lending leasing and asset management throughout the americas . in 2001 bc restricted its loan activity to existing customers . 8 the company which began transitioning some services to jacksonville florida in 1997 9 ceased taking on new consumer loans in 2001 focusing instead on loans to retailers and gradually downsizing . 9 10 in november 2004 bombardier s credit evaluation was downgraded by moody s from moderate credit risk baa3 to questionable credit quality ba2 a below investment grade rating which impacted bombardier capital although the company s transportation division was unaffected . 11 in 2005 bombardier sold the inventory finance division of bc to ge commercial finance . 12 13 divestitures edit military edit this section includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations . please help to improve this section by introducing more precise citations . august 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message bombardier used to be a major canadian defence contractor . with the latest restructuring the company sold off nearly all of its military related work in canada . military aviation services was sold to spar aerospace and land based defence products made by urban transportation development corporation ceased operations as bombardier moved away from non aviation defence products . recreational products edit old bombardier sprocket wheel logo main article bombardier recreational products on 27 august 2003 bombardier inc. announced the sale of its brp recreational products unit to a group of investors bain capital 50 % bombardier family 35 % and caisse de d p t et placement du qu bec 15 % for 875 million . 14 as part of the deal brp retained rights to the sprocket logo which it subsequently modified . its snowcats and snowmobiles dated back