Thunder Bay Business June 2012 Bombardier 3

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The Climate is Right for Trains The Climate is Right for Trains.

This is Bombardier Transportation’s brand message and demonstrates the company’s commitment to designing,

Rail transport is generally considered to be one of the most ecologically sound means of motorized transport for people and goods. For every passenger-km

strives to improve the environmental performance of its activities. The company considers this to be a fundamental social responsibility and it is a responsibility that the Thunder Bay plant takes to heart in all areas of its local operations.

This spring, Bombardier in Thunder Bay was awarded the Platinum Level Energy Savings Award from Thunder Bay Hydro for its efforts in energy conservation.

Over the last two years, the Bombardier Thunder Bay plant has conducted some simple retrofits as part of its participation in the saveONenergy Retrofit Program.

The project was headed up by local employees, Lindsay Fenton and Arno

Left-right: Lindsay Fenton (Bombardier), Arno Kalbus (Bombardier), Charlie Allum (Bombardier), Jason Zaroski (Eecol Electric), Don Swerdlyk (Bombardier), Mike Parnell (Bombardier) and Bill Willis (Thunder Bay Hydro).

manufacturing and servicing products and systems that facilitate sustainable mobility.

shifted from road to rail transport, 70% of the emitted CO2 would be avoided.

As the global leader in rail technology, Bombardier Transportation constantly

Kalbus, and involved replacing old inefficient lighting with new energy efficient lighting. It has resulted in major energy savings of more than 21-thousand kilowatt hours per day. This saving is equivalent to taking 45 cars off the road annually!

Bombardier in Thunder Bay is always looking for innovative ways to become more environmentally friendly. Not only does this energy savings initiative invest in the Thunder Bay plant today, but the future for generations to come.

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Historical Milestones 1912: Founded by Canadian Car and Foundry Company of Montreal to manufacture railway boxcars 1919: Can Car built and opened a new office building

1920 - 30s: Downtime at the plant during the recession 1935: Can Car was pursuing the opportunity to build airplanes 1937: The plant re-opened for business for the first time in 16 years to

Congratulations Bombardier!

build aircraft.

1939: Elsie Gregory MacGill became Chief Engineer at the plant.

1962: Order for 164 Rapid Transit Cars from the Toronto Transit Commission

1943: 1451 Hurricane aircraft had been built by this year at the plant

1966: First year of the Quarter Century Club Awards

1945: Can Car had a workforce of 7,000 including many women

1975: An order for 80 BiLevels was signed with GO Transit.

1947: Can Car received its first overseas bus order: 133 units for South Africa

1984: Site transferred to Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) an entity of the Ontario provincial government

1950: By May, 2,000 buses had been built at the plant 1957: Can Car achieved 2,000,000 man-hours of work without a lost time accident.

1992: Bombardier acquires Canadian assets of UTDC 1994: Plant modernization and expansion completed 2006: BiLevel Platform developed that delivers to New Mexico, first car in seven (7) months after NTP (Notice to Proceed) 2006: Contract for 234 stainless steel metro cars for TTC (order expanded to 420 cars in 2010) 2008: Contract for 204 streetcars for the TTC 2010: Contract for the supply of 182 light rail vehicles for Metrolinx 2011: Manufacturing of the 1,000 BiLevel commuter train car 2012: 20th Anniversary of Bombardier in Thunder Bay and 100th anniversary of the Thunder Bay plant

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The Queen of the Hurricanes

By Amanda Bay- Firedog Communications

tory originating from the plant is the legend of the “Queen of the Hurricanes”.

The Bombardier Thunder Bay plant holds a lot of history for the community of Thunder Bay, and even the entire world. One of the greatest pieces of his-

It brings us back to the year of 1938 when Vancouver native, Elsie MacGill, moved to Fort William and was hired at the plant as Chief Engineer. She boasted an impressive resume being the first

woman to graduate with an electrical engineer degree in Canada, as well as the first woman to gain a degree in aeronautical engineering.

Working at the Fort William Plant, which was owned at that time by the Canadian Car and Foundry Company (Can Car), soon led to another first for MacGill. At the age of 33, she designed the Maple Leaf Trainer II which was recognized as the first aircraft to ever be designed by a woman.

MacGill came to the Fort William Plant at just the right time. In 1939 Can-Car was awarded a contract to produce the Hawker Hurricane aircraft for the war efforts of the Royal Air Force. MacGill supervised a large workforce, overseeing the engineering and production of the plane.

During the wartime years, 6800 people worked at the plant with more than 40% of the workforce being women. This was

the largest number of women working in a manufacturing plant in Canada.

During the production years of the Hurricane, MacGill introduced several new innovations and techniques that increased productivity and performance.

She also developed a de-icing method for the aircraft so it could be flown safely in the winter. A total of 1,450 Hawker Hurricanes were built at the plant over the four year time span. One in every ten Hurricanes used during World War II was built at the Fort William Plant.

MacGill’s success with the Hurricane was published far and wide in newspapers across the continent and around the world. She was heralded as a trailblazer and innovator by women and men alike.

This is when MacGill earned the nickname; “Queen of the Hurricanes” and why her name and legacy will live on for generations to come.

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Bombardier: Did You Know Did you know? · The Fort William Can Car was Canada’s largest manufacturer during World War II. Over 1400 Hawker Hurricanes for the British Royal Air Force were constructed at the plant – which was 10% of the world’s production · The world’s first aircraft EVER designed by a woman was designed at the Thunder

Bay Plant. Elsie MacGill worked as the chief engineer in 1938 when she designed the Maple Leaf Trainer II. MacGill is also known for creating a de-icer on the famous Hawker Hurricane so that it could be flown in the winter time.

· During World War II, more than 40% of workers at the plant were women (highest number of women working in a manufac-

turing plant in Canada). At this point in time, over 6800 employees worked at the plant.

Bombardier Transportation provides strong economic benefits to the Ontario economy with close to 2,000 highly-skilled employees and over 200 project-related suppliers.

· The Thunder Bay plant includes 553,000 sq.ft. (51,375 m?) of production capacity, and relies on more than 1,100 employees to provide high-quality workmanship every day.

· The Thunder Bay plant is Bombardier Transportation’s Centre of manufacturing expertise for the BiLevel commuter cars-

the most popular multilevel commuter rail car in North America with operations in 13 major cities in the United States and Canada, including cities like Toronto, San Diego, Vancouver and Seattle.

· On December 4, 1991, Bombardier purchased the assets of the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC) including the Thunder Bay plant.

· Support from Bombardier employees was instrumental in financing the construction of the Fort William Gardens. They also helped create the gigantic curling stone that presently sits outside of the facility.

· Over the years, Toronto has remained the largest customer of the Bombardier Thunder Bay plant.

· In 1963, the plant was awarded their first railcar contract for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).

· The ThunderÅ@Bay Bombardier plant is a multi-cultural workplace. Employees from all around the world including France, Mexico and China, can be found in all different departments. Bombardier Thunder Bay continues to attract newcomers to Thunder Bay in order to work, live and raise their families.

· In November 2011, Bombardier Thunder Bay celebrated a major milestone in its manufacturing history. Employees completed production of the 1,000th BiLevel rail car at the plant.

· As of May 2012, Bombardier Thunder Bay hired an additional 600 employees at the plant in an 18 month time span, and anticipates hiring more people in the next couple of months in order to fulfill their contracts.

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