Bombardier, Bolstered by Acquisitions, Enters New Era --- Montreal Company Now Must Consolidate And Develop Its Own Products
MONTREAL -- Like a proud parent at a debutante ball Bombardier Inc. last week showed off its shiny new 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet at the biennial commercial air show in Farnborough, England.</br></br>The aircraft, which is expected to carry its first paying passengers late next month, marks a turning point of sorts for Bombardier.</br></br>During the past two decades, the Montreal company has come a long way from its origins as a maker of motorized snow vehicles for rural Canadians. Thousands of New Yorkers ride in Bombardier-made subway cars every morning. Executives crisscross North America in business jets from the company's Learjet and Canadair subsidiaries.</br></br>But most of this growth has come from astute acquisitions and acquired technologies. Now, Bombardier must prove it can manage a far-flung operating network and develop winning products of its own. That's especially true in the fiercely competitive aerospace sector, where Bombardier in the past six years has gobbled up Canadair, Short Brothers PLC of Northern Ireland, Learjet Inc. and, earlier this year, Boeing Co.'s de Havilland subsidiary.</br></br>Bombardier "is at the beginning of almost a new phase of existence," says Benn Mikula, an analyst with Midland Walwyn Capital Inc. in Montreal. "It has abandoned its niche status and is becoming a segment player in regional and corporate aircraft and mass transit."