Any time world leaders gather together, transportation, security and logistics play an important role in ensuring the caucus goes smoothly. Behind the scenes, individuals work feverishly to play their respective roles and contribute to the event. Scott Fraser, general manager of Spectra Power Sports in Williams Lake, B.C., is one of those individuals. His tenacity earned Spectra a contract to supply 20 UTVs to the G7 Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec.
Having already supplied off-road vehicles to high-profile events such as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics (over 20 ATVs and more than 30 snowmobiles), Fraser was undaunted about being the UTV supplier for the G7 Summit. However, landing such a major contract and transporting such a large fleet of machines to the opposite side of the country took a great deal of planning, preparation and teamwork.
Bringing the plan together
Spectra Power Sports holds the Aboriginal standing offer to supply government agencies across Canada with off-road vehicles on a purchase basis. Because of this, the RCMP reached out to Spectra to be their UTV supplier for the G7 Summit. The contract went out to tender and Spectra made a bid in conjunction with Polaris Industries Canada and Groupe Aktion Performance in Quebec City, Quebec. Spectra was awarded the contract to supply the 20 brand new machines—2018 Polaris Ranger Crew XP 900’s and 2018 Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000’s—on May 9th. By May 22nd, they all had to be delivered.
“The process started in February and, when it came down to it, we had less than two weeks to deliver,” Fraser said. “Our manufacturer, Polaris Industries, did not have available units in stock. So myself, through Spectra Power Sports, had to co-ordinate finding machines across Canada. We worked with a transport company out of B.C. to co-ordinate picking up machines from five provinces.”
The UTVs were delivered to Pascal Bergeron, Fraser’s contact at Groupe Aktion Performance. “He was incredibly instrumental in making this happen,” said Fraser. “We couldn't have done it without him. We had to have a Quebec contact. We did the paperwork and logistics to make sure everything was going to happen on time, but he did the final install of the accessories and took care of making sure they were ready to be picked up by the transport company to be delivered. He also had to go out to the locations to install some final accessories that were delayed in shipment.”
Mission accomplished
Eight UTVs were delivered to Canadian Forces Base Valcartier to be used for security purposes and the other 12 vehicles were brought to Rue Richelieu in La Malbaie for security as well as transporting dignitaries, such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump. According to the wording in the contract:
“The main function of the UTV is to transport security teams and equipment over rough terrain, which would be treacherous to traverse on foot. This equipment will enable the security team to be a responsive, transitional mobile unit.”
The Spectra Power Sports showroom in Williams Lake. Chris Nicholson, regional sales manager for Polaris Canada, had high praise for Scott Fraser and the Spectra Power Sports team. “Wow, you pulled it off,” he said. “Not sure who else in Canada could have tackled the feat and timeline.” — Photo courtesy Scott Fraser
Now that the G7 Summit has passed, Fraser is ready to find another big deal for Spectra. “I’m constantly on the computer looking for opportunities to bid—primarily with government, fleet and rental contracts—to provide machines to departments like forestry and environment,” Fraser said. “What it comes down to is risk. Heino and Tracy Seibert, the owners of the company, don’t step back from high-risk opportunities. If somebody asks if we can do it, we say, ‘Yes, we can,’ and then figure out how we’re going to do it.”
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