GREAT SNOWMOBILING AT SAINT RAYMOND, QUEBEC!
MY TOUR OF THE ARCTIC CAT MANUFACTURING PLANT AT THIEF RIVER FALLS, MINNESOTA
Thunder Bay Snowarama for Easter Seals Kids MY TOUR OF THE ARCTIC CAT MANUFACTURING PLANT AT THIEF RIVER FALLS, MINNESOTA
Rogers Hometown Hockey Comes to Thunder Bay
Rogers Hometown Hockey Comes to Thunder Bay
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www.slednews.com MY TOUR OF THE ARCTIC CAT MANUFACTURING PLANT AT THIEF RIVER FALLS, MINNESOTA BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Great Outdoors It had been about ten years since my last trip to the Arctic Cat plant to see first hand the creation of an Arctic Cat snowmobile. It was fun to get an up close and personal look at the entire process with Dennis Buckley, Plant Manager at Arctic Cat. The plant is 500,000 square feet with 1100 employees at this site and 1400 overall in the company. They run three shifts per day for welding, two shifts for paint,
put the chassis and it comes out riveted ready to go to the assembly line. Then we start attaching all the different components. We go to line with a parts car system that goes along side the line for bulky items and we use a bin system as well.” said Dennis Buckley, Plant Manager at Arctic Cat. The first step in the process is to stamp the VIN number on and then it depends on the model for the order of how they do things. The suspension arms will go in, the track will go on, the engine will be put in place and then they start tying everything together.
them. We have a monthly plan of delivery to the dealers. The whole manufacturing process is complex but that also makes it fun.” said Dennis Buckley who has his degree in electrical engineering and got into manufacturing when he got out of school, enjoyed the work and has a passion for it now. “ The 50th Anniversary of Arctic Cat recently was really cool. Our customers are very passionate and loyal. We had 3000 people here and it was one of those experiences I will never forget. They came through our plant over two days to see how we produce our product for them and it was awesome. We also got to spend some time with them outside of the plant
fab shops and machine with one shift for assembly. Arctic Cat will produce ATV’s, ROV’s or side by side and snowmobiles all on day shift. On a good day depending on demand, like my tour day was, they are building 260 M series 1100 Turbo models. Arctic Cat will start making snowmobiles in May and go to early December. ATV’s are all made year round. “ We do everything here from the raw tube or the raw machining of the extrusion and exchangers. You weld them, paint them and we have a robotic area where we
at the activities and met people from all over the world. It was really refreshing to talk to our customers.” “ The Wildcat ROV has been a great success for us. It is a new thing and we had to figure out how to move in and out of the building because of it’s size and the different components but it has been a great product for us and fun to build.” said Buckley. Every weekday at 1pm you can tour the Arctic Cat plant. It takes about 1 to 11/2 hours and there is no charge.
“ We use DC tools and they measure the torque and the angle. For instance they can measure the suspension bolts to make sure that every one of those joints for that model were torqued to the right torque and angle. If it doesn’t it throws up an alarm and we put it on hold until we investigate the problem and take care of it,” said Buckley. “Our seats are made in a unique way where we take different types of chemicals and combine them with a carousel machine with 8 molds for any vehicle. We have programmed it to where we can change the ratios and shot time for a more plush set for a touring model or a light race seat.” “ We had about 240 people working on snowmobiles today. You run up the machine at the end where we fire up the engine, check the electronics and for any kind of leaks and go through a routine review. We also have a separate audit where we pull one of the machines off every couple hours, tear it down and make sure everything is OK,” said Buckley. “ The consumer can know the sled has had a lot of checks and balances. Our people take a lot of pride in that. The average employee here has 12 years seniority and we are very proud of that.” The Arctic Cat snowmobile has about 2000 parts. It starts with a master schedule that states what they are building and they send electronically this information to the suppliers. Every night the Arctic Cat team will go through a list of every part on every vehicle and that goes to a supplier for what is needed. The parts can come from all over the globe. It is a just in time parts arrival system. The intent of the system is to know parts requirements each day. “ After they sleds come off the line we have independent truckers that deliver
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GREAT SNOWMOBILING AT SAINT RAYMOND, QUEBEC! BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Great Outdoors
building at 12:30 and ready to begin my adventure.
The people of Quebec have a passion for the sport of snowmobiling. It was fun for me to travel to the town of Saint Raymond for three exciting days of riding
Annie Martel of the Development Office of Saint Raymond was there to meet me and we began our 40 minute drive east to Saint Raymond with lots of snow evident on the ground. Our first stop was to
on their comprehensive trail system. It was very easy to fly to Quebec City from my hometown of Thunder Bay. You have your choice of many flights on Air Canada, Westjet or Porter. After leaving at 8am I was in the beautiful Quebec City terminal
the Hotel Roquement which features 44 rooms, including 17 brand new with a recent addition, as well as dining area, bar and even a gated compound to store your snowmobile. This hotel caters very much to the snowmobiler and offers packages
that feature breakfast and dinner included. This very nice property is located right on the trail that allows you to explore 500 km in Saint Raymond alone! A few miles away is Quebec’s largest Ski Doo dealer, Dion Moto. They usually offer 70 Ski Doo rental sleds including the MXZ Renegade and Expedition models featuring 600 ACE and 1200 4 Tec engines. You can also get all your clothing, if required, from boots to helmets. The cost to rent your Ski
Doo can range from around $200 to $288 per day and that includes all taxes, trail permit and insurance. There is what they call a franchise deposit of $1500 to $3000 in case of an accident. Dion Moto also has
guides available that will travel the whole trip with you and show you the area in style. Another great feature of Dion Moto is they will pick you up at the Quebec City airport and bring you to their location eliminating the need for a rental car. Dion Moto is a very impressive snowmobile dealer that sells 500 sleds per year including 300 brand new and 200 used Ski Doos. Their market is 60% from the area including Quebec City and 40% from the
northern regions. They have 35 employees and operate from a 25,000 square foot building. Very interesting is their building previously was a motel operation. They purchased the building and have made it
their own including large showroom, rental area, enclosed sled storage space and even a used showroom in the basement. It is really quite impressive and great to see if you are a snowmobile lover. The rental side of the business sees 60% of their business from Quebec and area and 40% European people. The European audience rides during the week and weekends the renters are from Montreal and Quebec. It was fun to talk to Mr. Dion with Annie as my interpreter. “ He likes to ride snowmobiles but doesn’t have the time today. Mr. Dion used to do 5000 km a season but not now. In Saint Raymond the snowmobile is much more popular than ATV because there are more trails for snowmobile,”said Annie Martel. “ We have 1300 trail permit members in Saint Raymond and the trail system works only because of volunteers. We can start the season around December 15th and ride until March15th. You can also travel a bit more north and ride until April 30th.” The trail permits cost if you bring your own sled is $280 until Dec 8th and $340 after that. We now had our Ski Doo Expedition 600 ACE and were ready to begin our snowmobile adventure the next day. Continued Next Page
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GREAT SNOWMOBILING AT SAINT RAYMOND, QUEBEC! BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Great Outdoors Continued from Previous Page Our first ride was to Lake Edward, 160 kilometers one way up into the mountains to Demain Lake Edward. The day was bright and sunny, about -9 degrees Celsius and our group of 11 was ready to put on some kilometers! The first thing I noticed riding was the
excellent marking of the trails. You had signage everywhere you needed and this makes you feel more comfortable riding in a new area. Of course our guide today was the local Snowmobile Club President who knew the trails like the back of his hand and also had a GPS mounted on his sled! “ We are in Port Neuf Capital National, the 03 region which used to be called Quebec. In Saint Raymond we have 500 kms of trail and the district has 7 or 8 clubs. The snow conditions have been excellent and were open before Christmas time. We can get 250 cm to 400 cm of snow per year,” said Christine Clouthier, General Manager of Development for Saint RaymondResidential, Commercial and Tourism. “ The trails are groomed 4 times a week and kept it in good condition with 10 volunteers and 4 groomers. In the town the trail is on the old railroad track and in the summer becomes a bicycle trail. We have people coming here to ride from Ontario, Vermont, Maine and New York. They come back year after year because we have lots of snow and they like the conditions. Also they can do some loops and come back to the same hotel every night if that is what they prefer. There is even a storage location for snowmobiles you can rent near our town offices. We have Americans who store their sleds there and come here 5 or 6 times a year, buy a trail pass and ride.”
Park. Operator Clement Tardif, a former radio announcer in Quebec City, served me hot chocolate and introduced a local trapper there taking a break. The trapper showed me some pictures on his I phone of his recent catch including an otter! Todays trapper is high tech! After this stop we hopped back on to our sleds to an ice condition. It has started raining and made the remaining 50 kilometers ride back a little harder to see. Overall we rode 325 kilometers on our trip and this
ICE Hotel operation in Quebec. Their buffet breakfast is well known and was a real treat to experience. The food options are great in Quebec and the people are very passionate about their food. My last night’s stay in Saint Raymond would be at the historic La Bastide bed and breakfast. This 110-year-old property features 7 rooms each with their own bathroom and fine dining at it’s best. It is located in the village setting of Saint Raymond and snowmobilers can ride their sleds right to the back door. La Bastide offers snowmobiler packages including breakfast and a 5-course fine dining experience if you choose. It is a fun place to stay and offers a contrast to the traditional hotel setting of today.
My trip to Saint Raymond was excellent and included 600 kilometers of great snowmobiling. The people here were the highlight of the trip. The small town nature of the area meant everyone you met was very genuine and ready to help at all times. Their goal is to make your time there special! I would like to thank Christine, Dave and Annie for all their help during my visit and I hope to return again one day.
www.motoneigesaintraymond.com www.villesaintraymond.com www.dionmoto.com www.bastide.ca www.roquemont.com
was a great riding day. Rain in January in Quebec is pretty rare but I guess we must expect everything! Our next day’s ride was to include an overnight trip to Lac St Jean and the Mont Valin but the rain meant we decided to stay closer to home. It was fun to ride the trails near Saint Raymond and one stop was to an ice fishing area, which is a passion here. It was a carnival atmosphere on the ice and the beaver tail sugary treat was excellent. My last riding day included a trip to Duchnesnay Station Touristique that is a 5 star hotel that used to host the famous
It was fun to stop along our ride in the club shack that had the wood stove going and made for an interior temperature of 92 degrees Fahrenheit! The club has even installed solar power with batteries here to provide lighting. Our ride continued on a variety of trails, some winding as well as some more open to our lunch stop at Demain Lake Edward. The ride back was excellent as well with a stop at historic Relais de la Marmite in Portneuf National
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Rogers Hometown Hockey Comes to Thunder Bay BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Great Outdoors It was like a small town January 2 and 3rd, 2016 at Prince Arthur’s Landing in Thunder Bay. The celebration of hockey was everywhere with interactive displays to try, famous hockey players like Greg Johnson and Wendel Clarke, as well as up and coming local musicians Poor Young Things and Coleman Hell. Organizers of this event were thrilled with the turn out in Thunder Bay, which has been the largest to date of their 13
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stops this year. Coleman Hell played a big part in attracting so many people on Sunday with thousands there to see and hear his music including the break out hit, Two Heads.
“ People ask me about the old days with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the fighting days and then about the leafs today. The game is always changing. When we changed the rules back in 1998 and 2002 it affected
organized but with your buddies and friends.” “ Mike Babcock has come to the leafs and is getting a lot of structure put in place that he likes to see. The team has played hard
other rules. The game today is fast with lots of talent and it is fun to see the kids play at this speed. It has never been more talented.” “ The kids should go out and have fun playing the game. It is not always about structure but weekends like this are about fun. It is great to get out and play on outdoor rinks and ponds that aren’t always
all year. They are not getting the wins as much as we would all like but there is a real sense of the team going in the right direction and playing hard every night.Now it is just about seeing what players will be the future of the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
Wendel Clarke played 15 years in the NHL from 1985 to 2000 and retired at age 33 as the body gave out. “ Hometown Hockey puts all the communities it goes to on the map. Players come from everywhere and the whole country loves hockey so it is no better to get out into the communities where it started. The fans come out and have fun with many interactive games to try for the kids and big kids - adults.”
Thunder Bay Snowarama for Easter Seals Kids BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Great Outdoors Grab your helmets and winter gear because the coolest snowmobile event hits the trails on Saturday, February 20, kicking off the 2016 fundraising season for
community of Grand Portage for their long-standing support to help kids with physical disabilities experience greater acceptance, independence and integration.” The event is generously sponsored by Grand Portage Lodge and Casino, the Grand Portage Trail Riders, and the Grand
Together we make a difference for kids in the community who need our help. For more information or to donate, visit www.easterseals.org or snowarama.org. About Snowmobilers from across Ontario are revving up their engines for the annual Snowarama for Easter Seals Kids events taking place across Ontario. This unique fundraising experience combines thrilling snowmobile riding with an opportunity for snowmobile clubs and snowmobilers to join in the camaraderie of family activities to help children and youth with physical disabilities. Taking place on OFSC trails, Snowarama challenges winter enthusiasts in communities all over Ontario to raise donations for Easter Seals. Whipper Billy Watson originally conceived the event in 1975 and so far OFSC clubs have helped raise
Easter Seals Ontario. Once again, the Thunder Bay Snowarama for Easter Seals Kids will head south of the border to Grand Portage, only 45 minutes from Thunder Bay, attracting snowmobilers from across northwestern Ontario and Minnesota to enjoy some of the finest groomed trails in northern Minnesota. “We are looking forward to another successful winter fundraising season by hosting Snowarama events for winter sports enthusiasts across the province,” says Carol Lloyd, President & CEO of Easter Seals Ontario. “We are grateful to the
more than $16.3 million in over 20 communities. “Easter Seals is our preferred charity and we strongly encourage all OFSC permit holders to sign up for a Snowarama in their area this winter,” said Brenda Welsh, OFSC president. “This Go Snowmobiling event is a great way for everyone to get outdoors for a worthy cause.” Donations to Snowarama directly assist financing for vital mobility equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs and communication devices and summer camp. Easter Seals owns and operates two fully accessible camp properties and is recognized as an industry leader in providing specialized camping experiences for kids with physical disabilities.
Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. For more than 90 years, Easter Seals has played an important role in providing support for children and youth with physical disabilities from all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Thanks to its generous donors, Easter Seals continues to offer programs to allow kids to experience freedom, independence and a sense of accomplishment. Easter Seals helps by providing financial assistance for mobility equipment, communication devices and summer camp opportunities at its two properties, Camp Merrywood and Camp Woodeden.
Next Issue Deadline:
Great Outdoors February 10, 2016 Contact Sonia @ 631 -4244 or Sylvia @ 629-7599 www.northsuperiorpublishing.com Page 7
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