With rough terrain, snow, and mud, transportation in the great outdoors has never been easy, but since the 1950s, Polaris (Tii:PII) has made remote places accessible through its growing family of powersports vehicles.

The company started as an early snowmobile manufacturer in the frozen fields of Minnesota, but it has become a model of diversification. The company owns Indian Motorcycles and Slingshot, a three-wheeled open roadster, and manufactured Victory Motorcycles through 2017. Side-by-sides or UTVs, a category popularized by the Polaris RANGER, have exploded in popularity since they were introduced in 1999.

Polaris now designs, engineers, and manufactures a full line of powersports vehicles such as off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; moto-roadsters; quadricicycles; and boats. It also designs and manufactures parts, garments, and accessories, which include aftermarket accessories and apparel.

This diversification has helped Polaris thrive and grow, even during winters like this year when there was a lack of snow in even the coldest parts of North America.

Still, the company’s history is forever tied to the snow.

Edgar Hetteen, described by the Snowmobile Hall of Fame as the father of the snowmobile, along with David Johnson and Edgar's brother Allan Hetteen, were partners in Hetteen Hoist and Derrick in Roseau, Minnesota. They embarked on creating a vehicle capable of traversing snow in order to access remote hunting spots. They crafted the prototype in 1954, and the initial snow machine, constructed with a grain silo conveyor belt as a track, a Briggs and Stratton motor, and an old Chevy bumper for skis, was created. They worked to create the Polaris Sno Traveler with the first production model introduced in 1956. Weighing nearly 1,000 pounds, the Sno Traveler reached a top speed of about 20 mph.

Edgar Hetteen would leave Polaris to found Polar Manufacturing, later renamed Arctic Enterprises, and after going through bankruptcy in the 1980s, became Arctic Cat.

Meanwhile, Polaris developed a smaller, consumer-sized, front-engine snowmobile in the early 1960s to rival Ski-Doo. Polaris introduced the Mustang in 1965. It became a popular family snowmobile and propelled Polaris to leadership in the snowmobile industry throughout the 1960s-1970s.

Polaris now operates three business segments: on-road, off-road and marine.

The side-by-side market has been consistently strong over the past several years. Polaris continues to be North America's market share leader in off-road vehicles. Its ORV lineup includes the RZR sport side-by-side, the RANGER utility side-by-side, the GENERAL crossover side-by-side, the Polaris XPEDITION adventure side-by-side and the Sportsman ATV. The full line spans 107 models, including two-, four-, and six-wheel drive general-purpose and recreational vehicles.

Key 2023 ORV product introductions included the Extreme Duty RANGER XD 1500, RANGER XP Kinetic and the Polaris XPEDITION. Polaris sells its ORVs directly to a network of approximately 1,400 dealers in North America and 1,100 international dealers. Many of its ORV dealers and distributors are also authorized snowmobile dealers.

Its marine division includes the brands Bennington, Godfrey and Hurricane, with more than 500 base models, mostly pontoon and deck boats, across a range of price points.

The company also produces gear to go with its outdoor products under brands like Klim, Pro Armor and Trail Tech.

While variable weather can still affect the company’s sales, its diversification has helped it grow well beyond where it would be if it simply sold snowmobiles. And that diversification also helps us go even farther afield.