Black Diamond Equipment is a manufacturer of climbing, skiing and mountain climbing equipment, based in Utah, USA. The company also has a global office in Innsbruck, Austria. The company is owned by Clarus Corporation, which also owns Pieps and has Sierra Bullets.
Video Black Diamond Equipment
Histori
The history of Black Diamond Equipment began in the late 1950s, when climber Yvon Chouinard began to forge hand pythons and sell them from his trunk in the 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 claims and a lack of profitability, Yvon Chouinard put the company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Black Diamond was founded on December 1, 1989, when the assets of Chouinard Equipment Ltd. bought by a group of former employees of the company led by (now former CEO) Peter Metcalf, and some outside investors. Metcalf moved the company and its 45 employees from Ventura, California to Salt Lake City, Utah area in September 1991 to get closer to the climb 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 a secondary manufacturing facility as well as a global distribution center. 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 company changed its name and is now publicly traded on NASDAQ under the name Black Diamond, Inc. (BDE).
By 2015, Black Diamond announced they will expand their Utah manufacturing facility. In 2016, they announced it would move their European headquarters from Reinach to Innsbruck in Austria.
Maps Black Diamond Equipment
Products
Black Diamond Equipment designs and makes products for climbing, skiing, and mountain sports. Rock climbing products include carabiners, quickdraws, harness, active and passive ascent protection, belay devices, helmets, ice tools and piolets, crampons, ice screws, bouldering pads and large wall equipment. They also produce ski security equipments and avalanche. The company's mountain products include tents and shelters, lighting, trekking poles and rucksacks.
Over the years, Black Diamond has acquired and integrated several equipment companies on track, including Bibler tents (1997) Ascension climbing skins (1999), and Franklin (1998) climbing products. In 2010, they acquired Gregory Mountain Products, the rucksack manufacturer, but sold it in 2014.
Famous Black Diamond products include a spring-loaded camming device called Camalot and Magnetron carabiners, auto-locking carabiners that use magnets at the gates and steel inserts in the carabiner's nose for added security.
As always in the safety equipment industry, Black Diamond has released many product recalls after security issues.
Environmentalism
Black Diamond says that they recycle as much waste as possible, take advantage of wind and solar power substantially, and support environmental non-profit agencies.
Former Black Diamond CEO Peter Metcalf has a history of political advocacy both for the Utah outdoor industry and public land, and has been united with other outdoor companies against policies that threaten public lands and outdoor recreation.
See also
- List of outdoor industry holding companies
References
External links
- The Official Black Diamond Device Website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments