After a full day of welding in his Sicamous shop, the refreshingly humble Dave Forsyth shyly admitted that he had defined the new industry standard in turbo kits for Ski-Doo engines.
Forsyth, after years of building components for other companies’ turbo kits and building specialized parts for racers, started Powderlites in 1999. His first product was a lightweight trailing arm—front suspension parts for snowmobiles.
Forsyth’s good friend, Hurricane Performance (of Prescott, Ontario) owner Dave Marshall, spoke freely of Forsyth’s character and vast achievements. Marshall sought Forsyth’s advice when he was new to developing racing snowmobiles.
A cross-country mentorship
“What I knew of Dave at that point was that he was a very knowledgeable man who was just starting out on his own,” said Marshall. “He was building components for other people’s kits, and had just started developing his own turbo kit. Since then, I have seen him work his business, (and) really develop his product.”
Marshall and Forsyth share a passion for research and development. Forsyth prefers to make his prototypes by hand and pass them on to the production guys so he can move on to a new challenge. Marshall said that he feels the same way.
Forsyth is building a beautiful new shop to house his growing business.
“I have seen (Forsyth) develop a company that, if it’s not already, is well on its way to becoming world renowned,” said Marshall. “When I learn things from Dave, it’s in conversation, it’s just something he says off the cuff,” said Marshall. “And, I really respect that. Dave is one of the most honest people I have met. I…have a lot of respect for Dave, and I would have to say that in his knowledge he’s a mentor to me.”
Showing his stuff
“I’m not very boastful; I don’t go to the races too much, but I did go a bit last year,” said Forsyth, “just to let the young guys know I can be serious about it too. When I went to the drag races in Fernie, I took home the fastest sled there—just to kick them all in the pants and show them how it’s done.”
