Bombardier Recreational Products - Restructuring

Restructuring

During restructuring operations in 2003 the original snowmobile and tracked utility vehicle division was spun off as a separate company, with majority ownership transferred to Bain Capital. Though the company is a major manufacturer of two stroke engines and four stroke motors for several industries it is better known for its consumer recreational products.

They now make Ski-Doo and Lynx brand snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, Sea-Doo personal watercraft, jet boats, and Evinrude and Johnson outboard motors (through the purchase of Outboard Marine Corporation) and two-stroke cycle engines for inshore motorboat racing. They also produce motorcycle motors, kart motors, and small airplane motors, through their Rotax division.

In late August 2004 they sold the industrial vehicles division to the Camoplast company of Sherbrooke, Quebec. The industrial vehicles division made tracked utility vehicles such as snow grooming snowcats for skiing, sidewalk snow removal tractors and heavy duty tracked transporters, including the descendant of their original Muskeg tractor.

In October 2005, Camoplast Industrial Inc. formed an alliance with the Leitner Group for the design, sales and support of the BR350 and BR180 grooming machines. Those machines are still manufactured by Camoplast in Granby, Quebec but are sold as Prinoth, the Leitner division for snow grooming machines and all-terrain vehicles.

In October 2007, Bombardier ordered at least some U.S. ATV dealerships to stop selling vehicles to Canadian customers, as the sales were a violation of dealer agreements to respect assigned geographic boundaries. Bombardier also announced that the warranty on any craft purchased by a Canadian in the United States – even if the purchase was initially made by an American - would be void. Newspaper articles revealed that some models were being sold in Canada for as much as 40% above prices in the U.S.

In September 2012, Bombardier Recreational Products, Inc. announced it will exit the sport boat business in the coming months citing the decline in global sales in the marine industry. This meant the loss of 350 jobs, including most of those at the plant in Benton, Illinois.