Canadian-made rescue vehicle getting worldwide interest, says manufacturer

Omar Sachedina speaks with GlobalMedic founder Rahul Singh about their all-terrain vehicle that aims to be the future of saving lives in disaster situations.

It’s 5,000 pounds.

It can swim, climb and cut through snow and ice.

And for Rahul Singh, the founder of Global Medic, it’s the future.

“These are beasts. They’re extreme all-terrain vehicles.”

Singh, who is a retired paramedic, launched the disaster-relief agency in 1998. Since then, it’s helped 6 million people in 90 countries.

“We always want to innovate as part of our way of getting the right aid to the right people at the right time. That’s the next-gen innovation for us.”

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He’s talking about the ARGO Sasquatch, an amphibious made-in-Canada vehicle that can operate in harsh environments and is uniquely designed to rotate in tight spots.

The one Singh’s organization has costs about $250,000 and it’s funded by the Ontario government.

With one touch of a keypad inside the Argo, and the turn of a wheel, the tires start deflating for greater traction, and the vehicle can move 180 degrees on the spot.

“We know with climate change, we get these significant weather events,” Singh explains.

“So, if people are trapped by snow and we’ve got to get in and rescue them. Sure, we can come in by snowmobile. We can pull drivers off the highway. But if grandma slips and breaks her hip, we can’t pull her out on a snowmobile.”

“But this unit, we can do it. We can get right in that last 100 metres, get grandma, stabilize her, support her, and get her out.”

The vehicle is made at a factory in New Hamburg, Ont., which now employs about 150 workers. That’s after cutting about five per cent of its workforce because of U.S. tariffs on raw materials.

“Everyone’s happy to be here. We’re making a good product,” says Carol Witzke, Argo XTV’s Director of Operations.

“Still, apprehension is on everyone’s mind on what the future holds.”

The company says it’s been forced to pass on higher costs to its buyers, making sales in the U.S. more challenging.

But it says other markets are taking notice.

“Europe, Australia, New Zealand, countries around the world. We’re definitely seeing business pick up,” explains Michael Kelly, Argo XTV’s Director of Commercial Sales.

For Rahul Singh, the homegrown machine is critical for his team, and he insists it also makes economic sense.

“Whether it’s storms, whether it’s the snow, the ice storm, or the flooding, we know more people will be in harm’s way. We’re going to be responding a lot more and helping people. We’re going to need better tools right here in Ontario. So we should be using the Ontario-made solution for right here in Ontario.”

“We’ve got one and I want more.”