Black Diamond Equipment
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| Public company | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: BDE |
| Industry | climbing and skiing equipment |
| Founded | December 1, 1989 |
| Headquarters | Holladay, Utah |
| Parent | Black Diamond, Inc. |
| Website | blackdiamondequipment |
Black Diamond Equipment is a manufacturer of equipment for climbing, skiing and mountain sports, based in Utah, USA. The company also has global offices in Reinach BL, Switzerland and Zhuhai, China. The company is owned by Black Diamond, Inc., a parent company formerly known as Clarus Corporation, which also owns Pieps and owned POC Sports.
Black Diamond Equipment’s history dates back to the late 1950s, when climber Yvon Chouinard began hand-forging pitons and selling them from the trunk of his car in Yosemite Valley. Chouinard’s pitons quickly gained a reputation for quality, and Chouinard Equipment was born soon after in Ventura, California.
In early 1989, after several product-liability lawsuits and a continued lack of profitability, Yvon Chouinard placed the company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Black Diamond was founded on December 1, 1989, when the assets of Chouinard Equipment Ltd. were purchased by a group of former company employees led by (now former CEO) Peter Metcalf, and a few outside investors. Metcalf moved the company and its 45 employees from Ventura, California to the Salt Lake City, Utah area in September 1991 to be closer to the climbing and skiing opportunities provided by the Wasatch Mountains.
In 1996, Black Diamond Equipment Europe was established in Reinach, Switzerland, making Black Diamond products more widely available throughout Europe. In 2006, Black Diamond Equipment Asia was established in Zhuhai, China to serve as both a secondary manufacturing facility as well as a global distribution hub. In May 2010, Black Diamond Equipment was acquired for $90 million by Clarus Corporation which owns Armor Holdings, Inc., a military defense contractor. The resulting corporation was renamed and is now publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the name Black Diamond, Inc. (BDE).
In 2015, Black Diamond announced they would be expanding their Utah manufacturing facility. In 2016, they announced they would be moving their European headquarters from Reinach to Innsbruck in Austria.
Black Diamond Equipment design and manufacture products for climbing, skiing and mountain sports. Climbing products include carabiners, quickdraws, harnesses, active and passive climbing protection, belay devices, helmets, ice tools and piolets, crampons, ice screws, bouldering pads and big wall equipment. They also produce skiing and avalanche safety equipment. The company’s mountain products include tents and shelters, lighting, trekking poles and backpacks.
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