Black Diamond parent company plans Utah growth

By Brice Wallace

A holding company of the well-known Black Diamond Equipment brand has committed to expand in Utah, adding up to 147 headquarters jobs and considering making part of its new building a world-class indoor climbing facility.

Holladay-based Clarus Corp., a publicly traded parent company of Black Diamond, made the expansion announcement after being approved for a tax credit incentive by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board at the board’s May meeting.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Aaron J. Kuehne, the company’s chief administrative officer and chief financial officer, said the company will decide on an exact location for the $40 million project by year-end, likely either near downtown Salt Lake City or near the mouths of the Cottonwood canyons. Neighboring states were competing with Utah for the project.

“We went through an evaluation process and it kept on coming back to ‘This is our home, this is where we want to be, this is where we want to grow the business,’” Kuehne told the GOED board.

Clarus acquired Black Diamond Equipment Ltd. and Gregory Mountain Products Inc. for a total of $135 million in 2010. Gregory subsequently was sold. Black Diamond creates outdoor equipment and apparel for climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, skiing and other activities. Its products are sold in approximately 50 countries.

In addition to Black Diamond, Clarus also owns the Sierra Bullets and PIEPS brands. Sierra is a bullet manufacturer based in Missouri, while Austria-based PIEPS produces beacon technology and avalanche safety equipment.

Clarus owns its 100,000 -square-foot headquarters building at 2084 E. 3900 S. and rents a similar-sized building near Salt Lake City International Airport for its third-party logistics services.

Kuehne said the new base location would be a new, “substantial” building that would serve as headquarters, contain retail activities and also could be a huge climbing facility similar to a 100,000-square-foot facility the company built in Austria through a collaboration with the city and county there and a partner company. It attracts 7,000-8,000 participants daily, Kuehne said.

“Our dream — our aspiration — is to somehow activate, frankly, a best-in-class, a world-class climbing facility that would put Salt Lake, that would put Utah, back on the mark as being the mecca, as being the center stage, for the sport of climbing,” he said.

Kuehne said about 20 percent of Black Diamond’s manufacturing takes place in Holladay, with the remainder sourced internationally. He said a lot of the local manufacturing likely will move to the warehouse near the airport. But the company’s desire to remain in Utah will strengthen its ties to the state.

“This is our back yard. And when people come in, they need to understand that this is where Black Diamond is located and it’s going to be extremely difficult to displace us….This [expansion] process is one of those ways that we’re trying to solidify that statement and position,” he said.

The 147 new jobs are expected to pay an average of $88,000 annually. The state incentive totals nearly $1.8 million over eight years. The project is expected to generate about $91 million in new wages over eight years and new state tax revenues of $8.9 million over that period.

“Salt Lake City has been home to Black Diamond Equipment, and now Clarus, for over 25 years,” John Walbrecht, president of Clarus, said in a prepared statement. “We are excited about the future of the outdoor industry in Utah and expect to play an important role in its growth for years to come.”

“Clarus Corp. is a bedrock partner and an anchor of Utah’s outdoor industry,” said Val Hale, GOED’s executive director. “We couldn’t be more pleased with their decision to expand in the state of Utah. We look forward to future partnership opportunities with Clarus Corp. as we help advance the state’s outdoor recreation economy.”

“When Black Diamond Equipment moved to Utah in the 1990s, it was a monumental event for the state’s outdoor products industry,” said Theresa Foxley, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “Today, as they, and its parent Clarus Corp., announce their most recent Utah expansion, we look forward to our continued partnership as we support and grow Utah’s outdoor products industry.”

Clarus became a public company in May 1998. For its most recent quarter ended March 31, the company reported net income of $400,000, or 1 cent per share. For the same quarter a year earlier, the company reported a net loss of $1.5 million, or 5 cents per share. Sales in the most recent quarter totaled $53.3 million in the quarter, up from $41.6 million in the year-earlier quarter.{/mprestriction}