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The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) recently published a feature on Zeal Motor, covering how FAT TRUCK® vehicles moved from industrial job sites into Canada’s defence sector.
The story starts with our co-founders, who spent decades adapting industrial vehicles for tough environments before starting Zeal Motor in 2018. Maxime O’Shaughnessy calls it “a young company with a lot of experience.” That experience first went into vehicles for mining and power transmission crews, and FAT TRUCK® has since found work in communications, security, and search-and-rescue.
Our work with the Canadian Armed Forces began in 2021 through Innovative Solutions Canada, a federal program that helps small businesses develop and validate prototypes. The requirements matched problems our industrial customers had been describing for years. In 2023, two FAT TRUCK® vehicles spent several months under evaluation in the Canadian Arctic, with no spare parts or servicing. Both came back in working order.
In the article, Maxime O’Shaughnessy, President, and David Lord, Defence Program Director, also share advice for Canadian SMEs thinking about the defence market. They cover managing cash flow when contract timelines are uncertain, starting from the capability the government needs rather than the product you already have, and getting the certifications the sector requires.
Thank you to BDC for sharing our story.
