Arctic Cat is a producer of all-terrain vehicles and Snowmobiles in the United States. Located in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, they are a top competitor with other snowmobile companies such as Polaris, Ski-Doo by Bombardier, and Yamaha Motor Company Ltd.. The NASDAQ stock trading symbol is ACAT.

Snowmobiles

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Arctic Cat is most famous for the series of ZR snowmobiles including the 500, 600, 700, 800, and also for the famed thundercat which was the fastest snowmobile available in the 90's. Recent sleds include the Firecat, Crossfire, and Sabercat which all use the same engine series but have different track lengths, and are available in 1200, 1000, 800, 600 and 500 cc motors.

All Terrain vehicles

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Arctic Cat also makes a wide range of ATVs (all terrain vehicles). The motors range in size: 50cc, 90cc, 250cc, 300cc, 400cc, 500cc, 650cc, and 700cc.

History

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David Johnson, Edgar Hetteen and Allan Hetteen were partners in Hetteen Hoist and Derrick Shop in Roseau, Minnesota. They designed and built a machine in 1954 to travel over snow. This company eventually became known as Polaris Industries. Edgar left the company in June 1960 and started Polar Manufacturing in Thief River Falls. The company name later changed to Arctic Enterprises. Arctic Enterprises began producing Arctic Cat snowmobiles in 1960. Arctic Enterprises later expanded to purchase boat manufacturers such as Spirit Marine, Silver Line, Larson, and Lund. Spirit Marine produced the first Wetbike in 1978.

A snowless winter in 1980 and over-production forced Arctic Enterprises to scale back operations and close boat manufacting subsidiaries. Arctic Enterprises went bankrupt in 1981 and ceased production in 1982. In 1984, a new startup company was formed, called Arctco to continue production of the Arctic Cat snowmobile line. In 1996, the company officially changed its name to Arctic Cat.

In 2003, ATV sales surpassed those of snowmobiles due to years of lighter snowfall.

External links

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• Arctic Cat

Arctic Cat | Arctic Cat