The breaking news about the Brad Darling and investors from Ontario Drive & Gear/Argo purchasing Arctic Cat from Textron has many people asking, “Who the heck is Argo/ODG?”
The company’s roots date back to 1962 – interestingly, a year after Edgar Hetteen started what became Arctic Cat in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, and the same year the company was rebranded as Arctic Cat.
At first, Ontario Drive & Gear Limited was a Kitchener, Ontario-based subsidiary of a German company that designed and manufactured transmissions and gears for other whole-good manufacturers. But by 1967, it parlayed its expertise into its own amphibious vehicle it named Argo.
Since then, Argos have been mostly six- or eight-wheeled low-powered, open cab vehicles that can traverse over land, across water and through swamps. Their versatility gave them a strong following among people with truly unique needs – whether they were work applications in mixed terrain or allowed access to remote locations for hunting/fishing or more.
The brand primarily “stayed in its lane” so-to-speak until 2017, when it launched its line of Argo Xplorer ATVs. That was followed by Argo Magnum side-by-sides starting in 2021, plus more ATVs including youth quads. Those are all manufactured overseas at this point. Then, in 2022-23, the monstrous Argo Centaur XT and Sasquatch XTX were launched featuring 71-inch tires and unrestrained capabilities. Other industrial, unmanned and even defense vehicle projects also exist.
While its Argo division has a higher visibility, Ontario Drive & Gear Limited is still an OEM supplier of transmission assemblies and gears, often for industrial needs. Overall, the company currently has about 300 employees, most working at the headquarters in New Hamburg, Ontario. But a couple dozen are located in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, in a former Arctic Cat facility that opened in 2019.
Arctic Cat Ties
Currently, the Argo/ODG president and CEO is Brad Darling. Some snowmobiling insiders may recognize the name. That’s because Darling was at Arctic Cat from May 2000-April of 2016. He started as a district sales manager and worked his way up the VP/General Manager of the Snowmobile Division by 2011.
Darling, though, isn’t the only Arctic Cat refuge with the company. In fact, that newish Thief River Falls office is packed with former Cat engineers, sales staff, marketing folks, event coordinators and much more, and more ex Cat sales staff is “out in the field” across North America.
Argo even utilizes former employees of Arctic Cat’s advertising agency, Periscope, for its marketing now.
So, yes, there are deep ties and some emotion bonds that may have played a role in this purchase.
However, we know that it was limited. ODG/Argo is owned by private equity investors, and a strong cross-section of those investors are involved in this Arctic Cat purchase. Those are numbers people, not enthusiasts. Therefore, this investment had to make dollars and cents sense as well.
Only 7 more lives to go…
GO GET ‘EM TIGER !
With a drive and gear company as a partner, maybe we see more snowmobiles with high/low range transmissions. Like most all ATV’s
Or prufect the Arctic Cat Diamond Drive from the past in those ZR 900s.
Artic and Argo. The double AA team.
Congratulations Arctic Cat and especially Brad Darling. Canada and Canadians come to the rescue when American companies abandon a truly great snowmobile brand.
Canada and Canadians are loyal stable dependable smart saviours and owners for Arctic Cat who will invest wisely in the company, its staff, suppliers and customers.
Congratulations Cat and Canada. Elbows Up and did the right thing.
Elbows up has nothing to do with this. The private equity firms are American.