BRP-Rotax celebrates 102 years of success with a grand gala to mark its centennial anniversary

BRP-Rotax celebrates 102 years of success during a festive gala in Wels, Austria © BRP

Last Friday, BRP Inc. (TSX:DOO; NASDAQ:DOOO) proudly marked the 102nd anniversary of BRP-Rotax during an exclusive and unforgettable gala at the Wels Exhibition Center in Austria.

Together with about 2,000 employees, partners and guests of honor, the Upper Austrian company commemorated historical milestones and successes in addition to celebrating the present and the future with promising projects that lie ahead.

"It is not every day that businesses get the chance to celebrate more than 100 years of existence. It takes ingenuity, grit, and resilience to achieve such a milestone," said Thomas Uhr, Chief Technology Officer at BRP. "I am honoured to celebrate BRP-Rotax's rich history with the people who have made the company what it is today, but even more so excited about what the future holds. With our unrivalled process and product expertise, and investments in R&D, we are shaping the mobility of tomorrow with the latest high performance technologies that contribute to reducing our carbon footprint."

"Every day, our teams create the best and most advanced propulsion systems for our customers around the world," added Wolfgang Rapberger, General Manager, BRP-Rotax and Vice President, Global Sourcing & Operations, Powertrain. "They have been the driving force behind our incredible achievements for over 100 years and, together, we will continue to trailblaze the way to ground-breaking technologies. On behalf of the entire leadership team, I sincerely thank them for their commitment to BRP-Rotax."

From the patented freewheel bicycle hub to the founding of Rotax-Werk AG in 1920, BRP-Rotax grew over the decades to become a leader in the development and production of propulsion systems for the leisure and powersports sector. BRP (a division of Bombardier at the time) placed its first Rotax engine order in 1962 for Ski-Doo snowmobiles and acquired Rotax in 1970. Since the beginning of this success story, Rotax engines have been at the heart of the ever-growing roster of BRP products. In 2021, the 10 millionth engine from Gunskirchen was delivered to BRP in Canada, and the story lives on. BRP-Rotax is looking to the future by pushing the boundaries of innovation, developing new technologies for electric mobility.

A festive celebration with many highlights

The gala opened with an exciting time travel through the most important events in the company's history so that all guests could remember those precious moments. Everyone enjoyed a unique culinary experience and entertainment, while popular singer Cesar Sampson and the PT Art Orchestra provided the musical highlight of the evening. To the sounds of the local DJ duo MoBros, the festivities went on into the night.

Among the guests of honor, Claire Bombardier and Laurent Beaudoin, former Managing Director and CEO of Bombardier and Chairman emeritus of BRP, who played a key role in the acquisition of Rotax by Bombardier in 1970, in addition to some members of BRP's executive management team: José Boisjoli, President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Uhr, Chief Technology Officer, Anne Le Breton, Executive Vice-President, People & Culture, and Sebastien Martel, Chief Financial Officer. BRP-Rotax was also pleased to welcome the mayor of Gunskirchen, Christian Schöffman, Dr. Joachim Haindl-Grutsch, General Manager IV Upper Austria, representatives of the regional council for economic affairs, and many more partners and key players in the history of the company.