We should all be so lucky.
Bombardier Recreational Products has just opened a new $15 million state-of-the-art design and innovation centre where it encourages its industrial design team to be creative in designing the company's future products.
That's it-be creative. Design all day on these really cool products and watch at least a portion of those ideas become vehicles people around the world will one day enjoy.
On a beautiful clear day in mid-September, BRP officials unveiled what undoubtedly is the pride of the Valcourt, Quebec-based motorsports company-the Centre Design & Innovation Laurent Beaudoin. The centre is named after Laurent Beaudoin, BRP chairman of the board.
"For more than 45 years, Laurent Beaudoin has been a firm believer that innovation is the only way to succeed," José Boisjoli, president and chief executive officer, said. "We wanted to commemorate a man whose leadership, passion, innovative spirit and dedication have made our company a leader in the powersports industry."
When the lettering that names the building was unveiled during the grand opening, it was obviously a surprise to Beaudoin who had no idea it would be named after him.M.o<
Under One Roof
The centre brings under one roof BRP's design team which had been spread out in several locations, including Sherbrooke, PQ, Valcourt and the United States. The team represents a group of approximately 60 individuals ranging from transportation designers, product designers, graphic designers, engineers, human factors experts, mechanics, CAD technicians, modelers, moulders, painters and management. The designers come from various places across the world.
Not only does the centre put all those people under one roof, BRP officials told SnoWest Magazine that the stylish and impressive new building will also serve as a recruiting tool to lure potential new designers in the future.
While the design and innovation centre will serve all of BRP's motorsports lines, it's a huge step forward for the company in the snowmobile industry and now gives it an even bigger leg up on its competition.
Located right next to BRP's corporate headquarters, the Centre Design & Innovation Laurent Beaudoin isn't just a big deal in the powersports industry, though. With its nearly 54,000 square feet of space, the BRP building is one of the largest design centres in all of Canada.
Building Design
The second floor houses a state-of-the-art design studio which includes individual clay rooms, large conference rooms and huge presentation areas for simultaneous presentations. The two working design studios run north and south and are naturally lit yet without direct lighting to avoid glare in the designers' graphic design tablets.
The first floor houses a paint booth along with other rooms where workers can fabricate parts out of fiberglass, wood and other products.
No one is more excited about the new centre than Denys Lapointe, BRP's executive vice president of design and innovation. He said, "We have know great successes in the past with the introduction of paradigm-shifting products such as the sit down Sea-Doo personal watercraft, the Rev platform on our Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles and, more recently, the Can-Am Spyder roadster. The new centre offers a fantastic creative environment. It brings together skilled, committed and passionate people whose talent will be leveraged to work on multiple projects for current and new segments."