Specialists in engines and power generation products since 1983, Frontier Power Products is Western Canada’s premier provider of industrial generators and diesel engines, along with marine propulsion generators from Blue Star Power Systems, John Deere Industrial & Marine, Kubota, Mitsubishi Marine, and Kohler Residential Generators. A fully authorized distributor providing a wide array of services, Frontier is also a manufacturer of natural gas-powered generator sets, industrial power units, mud pumps, hydraulic power units, and industrial heavy-duty light towers.
Founded by Larrie York and Terry Sumner, Frontier Power Products’ primary goal from the start was to provide the best solutions for the challenging conditions in Western Canada, from servicing sea level to the summits of the Rocky Mountains to some of the most isolated places on the planet, where engines must operate in extremely cold or hot conditions.
Creating products that take site conditions into account to overcome these obstacles, Frontier’s technology has helped clients design engines and generator sets that have performed around the world in the deserts of Mexico and Libya, the highlands of Chile and Peru, and the frigid Antarctic, but the company’s roots remain deep in Western Canada.
“Frontier has steadily grown into a trusted power provider in Western Canada,” says JP Ouellette, Vice President and General Manager. The company has, in fact, recently expanded into Ontario with its acquisition of Mississauga, Ontario’s M-K Power Products in April of 2023. “The Frontier history lies in the motto: ‘If you dream it, we build it.’ If you can think of how you want to power your machine, we will make it happen. ‘You dream it, we build it’ was the resonating ideology behind how Frontier grew and captured so much business,” Ouellette says. “That is a platform that has made Frontier great.”
The company prides itself on maintaining the perfect size—not too big for smaller projects, but not so tiny that it can’t take on a big project, he adds.
Historically, the company’s client portfolio was largely North American-based, with products required to handle climatic swings from minus 50 degrees Celsius to plus 40 degrees Celsius, which meant building design equipment that can work in that type of environment, adds Sales & Service Support Specialist Dave Vandeburgt. This is what pushed the mechanical and electrical engineers to think outside the box. What Frontier saw coming from the southern hemisphere wouldn’t make it in a northern Alberta climate.
“The durability wasn’t there, but we always had to be conscious of the economic dollar amount too, where there wasn’t an open chequebook,” adds Vandeburgt. “We’ve got great product that we represent; we still have to build with the practical price and economic value in mind, trying to find that balance and then having the durability they keep coming back for.”
This means extreme heavy-duty packaging in the “really harsh environment” that is the northern oil and gas fields, adds Ouellette. “These are abused horribly, so you can’t pull something off the shelf from a big box store for that location.” Frontier, he adds, has been around a long time and has proven itself.
“It isn’t a 10- or 15-year business,” Vandeburgt agrees. “I think we’ve navigated the ups and downs of the North American region and all the changes that happen from an economic standpoint.” When it comes to commercial marine generators, Frontier has taken a lead in the industry, he adds, backed by the company’s impressive 40-plus-year history, knowledge, and experience. Vandeburgt emphasizes that Frontier has built its name in the marine business both historically and currently, establishing itself as the number one solutions provider on the West Coast.
“We realized we had to package custom-built product because there wasn’t much competition in the marketplace. The cost to replace a particular generator or upgrade a particular generator vessel is just a small part of it. When a customer says they need this product best-suited for the application—and whether that product must be customized as a generator off the back or generator off the front, along with a hydraulic package off the front or back—they’re really coming and saying it’s a niche application and we’ve got to get creative,” he explains.
Still, he believes there’s always room for improvement. This means new product coming up that includes custom or hybrid packaging, and new John Deere JD14 and JD18 engine packages that bring the company into a different kw/horsepower range, expanding its reach into the market. Frontier is also looking to expand with its marine generators, which are moving into different power nodes. The hybrids, in particular, are becoming smaller, with the engine’s batteries making the combination all the more efficient.
To help address these challenges, Frontier is working on a hybrid package that allows a lower run time on the generator with a higher load to charge the batteries while being able to operate in extreme cold. “We did cold chamber testing, we did site testing, we got proof of concept on our hybrid package, and we’re continuing to review and test and improve this package,” Ouellette explains. “We’re going to create our standard offering, so this hybrid technology is a whole new generator set for us.”
Looking ahead, it will be critical for Frontier to embrace the hybrid packages, whether for marine, industrial, or off-grid applications, along with continuing to form partnerships with battery companies. “As the world goes green to a certain degree, a lot of companies have seen the value—with some high capital cost initially—of what that looks like,” adds Vandeburgt.
And while Frontier and M-K Power will continue to do what they have always done best, the team will also be scrutinizing industry changes and technological advances and working on incorporating them more effectively into its products.
“To strengthen our packaging business, we’re strategically expanding our OEM operations,” explains Ouellette. “Over the past five to ten years, we’ve successfully secured OEM partnerships that consistently take engine shipments, creating a reliable and scalable revenue stream. This dual focus allows us to offer unmatched flexibility—delivering precisely the custom products our customers need, when they need them. It’s a powerful way to meet evolving demands while driving long-term growth.”
Whether it’s servicing customers big or small, low or high-volume, new to its standards or still around after 20 years or more, Frontier knows it is sized just right to fulfill promises and orders and give clients unfailing support every time. “We make every customer feel like they count,” says an emphatic Ouellette. “They know they’re not just an account number. They come in and talk to us, and they feel appreciated.”
Amidst this emphasis on personal attention, Frontier boasts a growing team in multiple locations—Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Toronto. And while some companies economize on personal service as they expand, Frontier hasn’t and is resolved never to do so.
Frontier prides itself on its longevity, but also attributes current growth to new ownership and an ambitious trajectory that remains organic in the North American market. “To a certain degree, we’re worldwide,” says Vandeburgt. “We do feed our product all over the world, whether it’s on a mountain in Ecuador or a Saudi Arabian fish farm. That’s a tribute to how word travels organically in the network. Everybody’s got a website, but realistically, it’s usually word-of-mouth or references that drive or expand the business marketplace.”
And that’s a tribute to Frontier, he adds. Big or small, the company remains dedicated to servicing its clients. “There are customers that, historically, we built our business on, that we can’t leave behind, because it’s them and the next generation that we have to consider. We have to be able to fill that capability.”
