By Brice Wallace
Amer Sports will grow its North American headquarters in Ogden and add 110 high-paying jobs over the next five years.
The company made the announcement last week after being approved for a $228,161 tax credit incentive by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}
Amer produces sports equipment, footwear, apparel and accessories for sports and outdoor activities. Its brands include Salomon, Wilson, Atomic, Arc’teryx, Peak Performance, Enve, Suunto and Precor.
The $1.5 million expansion project will relocate Arc’teryx brand activities — sales and customer support currently take place in Vancouver, Canada — and expand the brand at existing facilities in Ogden. Tom Wadsworth, GOED associate managing director, told the board that the new work in Ogden will include repairing and providing after-market services for the clothing brand.
Arc’teryx was a $50 million brand in 2010 but will close this year at about $600 million, which the company expects to double by 2023.
The new jobs will pay an average of $45,000. The project is expected to generate nearly $15 million in new wages over five years and more than $1.5 million in new state tax revenue during that period.
Finland-based Amer Sports announced in October 2006 it would put the headquarters of three ski-equipment brands — Suunto, Salomon and Atomic — in Ogden, after getting an incentive of more than $7.9 million from the state and nearly $4.2 million from Ogden.
Last week’s incentive follows up on a tax credit incentive awarded last year to Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Co., part of Amer Sports. That incentive of up to $1.3 million was tied to the expansion of operations in Ogden and the addition of up to 155 jobs over 10 years.
“Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor opened its new warehouse in Ogden on Jan. 4, 2019,” Bill Kirchner, vice president and general manager of Amer Sports Americas, said in a prepared statement. “The build-out and transition has gone smoothly, and we’re now ready to further expand operations by adding jobs in consumer and after-sales services for the Arc’teryx brand.
“We value our partnership with the city of Ogden, Weber County and the state of Utah. We’re committed to supporting the local community by providing great experiences for skiers, snowboarders, runners, bikers and hikers and proud to call Utah our home.”
“We love it when Utah companies expand in the state,” said Val Hale, GOED’s executive director. “Amer Sports is already doing great things in Ogden. As the company continues to grow, it’s yet another success story in Utah’s thriving outdoor industry — an industry that keeps attracting new people and companies.”
“To support its internationally recognized brands — including Atomic, Salmon and Suunto — Amer Sports relocated its winter and outdoor American headquarters to Ogden in 2007,” said Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell. “Since joining our community and reinforcing Ogden’s amazing quality of life, Amer Sports has expanded multiple times, created quality jobs and assisted with our revitalization efforts by being one of our anchor tenants at the historic American Can Complex. Amer Sports’ expansion of Arc’teryx will benefit our city, our region, the entire state of Utah and its outdoor recreation industry.”{/mprestriction}
