KOOTENAY
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Trail
SHARE OF B.C.
POPULATION 3.1%
A Haven for
Startups
Ambitious entrepreneurs find a warm welcome
in the Kootenay region
42 INVEST in BC 2 0 2 5 Official Publication of the BC Economic Development Association in special partnership with BCBusiness.
E
arlier this year Edison Motors
bought a 305-acre industrial site
in Golden where it is putting the
finishing touches on a 30,000-square-foot
building. The plan is to manufacture up to
500 heavy-duty diesel and hybrid electric
trucks per year here for the forestry,
mining, energy, construction and utilities
industries endemic to western Canada.
The first mechanical diesel truck for sale is
scheduled to roll off the production line in
2026 and the first diesel-electric hybrid the
year after.
"We got tired of waiting for the Tesla
semi to come about," co-founder and
president Chace Barber jokes in a company
video. (The Edison name is a glib reference
to inventor Thomas Edison stealing rival
Nikola Tesla's ideas.) Raising $9.5 million
through crowdfunding since 2021, the
founders—loggers, drivers and mechanics
who saw an underserved niche for greener,
cheaper transportation solutions in their
industries—developed prototypes at a
garage in Merritt and are now almost ready
to start manufacturing in Golden.
Truck-making may yet prove a tough
place to find traction, but the Kootenay
region has a history of launching
surprisingly successful startups in sectors
you wouldn't expect to find along the
scenic backroads of B.C.'s mountainous
southeastern corner. In 2017 organic, fair-
trade coffee brand Kicking Horse Coffee
Roasters of Invermere sold to Italian
ENTREPRENEURIAL
DRIVE: Edison Motors
president Chace Barber
(below) is gearing up
to manufacture logging
trucks in Golden (right)
