Together, the three outdoor-related business developments announced Monday at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market trade show mean 1,335 new jobs in Utah and a capital investment of $6.5 million.
"We're developing 'industry clusters' where we can compete with anyone in the world, and the outdoor industry is one of those areas," said Jason Perry, director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED).
He said Utah's claim to being the "outdoor products' capital of the country" is enhanced by the decisions.
Online retailer Backcountry.com will spend $4.8 million to expand operations in Park City and West Valley City, adding 1,250 jobs.
Smith Optics will launch a subsidiary and open its own facility in Clearfield to manufacture, assemble and distribute ski goggles and helmets. The subsidiary, known as Smith Manufacturing, will employ 60.
Peregrine Outfitters, based in Williston, Vt., will open a warehouse and employ 25 people in Ogden.
Those businesses will augment an industry that has a direct annual economic impact on Utah of $4.5 billion, said Outdoor Industry Association President Frank Huegelmeyer, contending the impact grows to $7 billion when the "ripple effect" is used to track the flow of those dollars through the economy. The industry also pays $348 million in taxes while directly providing jobs to 36,000 Utahns.
"This is a great example of the strength of the outdoor industry on the economy," Huegelmeyer added. "Our business is innovative. Jobs based on our industry are high quality."
Perry said Utah's increasing focus on the outdoor industry recognizes the state's geographic assets.
"The best incentives are absolutely free in the state of Utah," he said, then quoting Amer Sports President Mike Dowse: "If you want to own the mountain, you have to be on the mountain." Amer recently announced that it is making Ogden the headquarters of its North American winter-sports division, which includes the Salomon, Atomic and Suunto brand names.
Added Jeff Edwards, president of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, whose job is to attract new companies to Utah: "The phrase 'Live, Work and Play' is alive and well in this state." His latest recruiting pitch describes Utah to prospective transplants as "your 23 million acre testing area."
Earlier this month, the GOED board agreed to provide tax incentives to persuade Backcountry.com to expand its Park City headquarters and West Valley City warehouse rather than establish new facilities on the East Coast or in Canada.
Started by John Bresee and Jim Holland in 1996, Backcountry.com currently employs 430 Utahns. But with sales of backpacking, skiing and snowboarding, camping and mountaineering projected to grow 500 percent in the next five years, the company expects to hire at least 650 new full-time employees, including 274 for high-paying jobs well above northern Utah's median wage level.
Smith Optics, based in Kellogg, Idaho, had relied for a quarter century on DFG Inc. of Ogden to manufacture, assemble and distribute its ski goggles and helmets. But after the partnership dissolved last year (DFG now makes goggles for Scott USA), Smith Optics President Ned Post said his $80 million-a-year company acquired a 120,000-square-foot building in Clearfield to build and ship its own products.
Peregrine Outfitters is a wholesale distributor of more than 6,000 outdoor accessories, storing them in warehouses and distributing them to retailers. Company President Bob Olsen said the Vermont company felt Ogden's infrastructure and location was well-suited for a distribution center, which he hopes to open March 1.
mikeg@sltrib.com
* SMITH OPTICS: It makes ski goggles and helmets and is starting its own manufacturing and distribution center in Clearfield.
* PEREGRINE OUTFITTERS: The Vermont-based wholesaler of outdoor equipment will open a warehouse and distribution center in Ogden.
