Silver Creek Center, a two-year-old business park located six miles west of here, landed its second corporate tenant when Black Diamond Equipment Ltd. confirmed Friday it will relocate in the center from its current facilities in Southern California.
A 34,200 square-foot manufacturing, administrative and distribution facility will be completed for Black Diamond by next summer, said Nancy Volmer, communications director for the Park City Chamber Bureau.Said to be the largest manufacturer of mountaineering equipment in North America, Black Diamond officials said in August that they intended to move their operations from Ventura, Calif., to the Silver Creek Center based on final commitments and relocation assistance with the State of Utah.
Black Diamond currently employs 75 people, and about 40 new workers are expected to be hired locally, Volmer said.
With sales of $9 million last year, the company is said to be the sales leader of mountaineering equipment in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
The company, manufactures gear for rock and ice climbing, mountaineering and back-country skiing. The majority of the stock in Black Diamond is held by former employees of Chouinard Equipment through the purchase of Chouinard's assets last December. Management began looking at relocation sites in January throughout the United States before deciding on Silver Creek Center.
According to Black Diamond President Peter Metcalf, the new site had to have access to a major metropolitan city and international airport, availabililty of high-quality subcontractors, a highly developed transportation network and a quality work force.
Metcalf also noted that the company's employees wanted to move to an area that was uncrowded, had low crime, a good education system, reasonably priced housing and cultural activities as well as sites for climbing, mountaineering and skiing where new equipment could be developed and tested.
"Park City met the bill on all these factors," Metcalf said. "The area has all the assets that our employees enjoy and that the company requires."
Black Diamond was actively pursued by Summit County officials, said Volmer, noting that Park City economic development director, Greg Goodwin, made the initial contact with the company last fall after which Black Diamond visited the area.
Subsequent visits followed with the University of Utah's Department of Engineering, Park City and Summit County community leaders and Utah State Economic Development officials.
Black Diamond is the second tenant to move to the center. Lucas Western, an aerospace manufacturer, moved into the center in 1988.