The venerable ski manufacturer has invited its sales representatives from across the United States, plus a few from Canada, to spend the next five days in Park City, where Rossignol's North American headquarters will share space in the Mountain Center building with a half-dozen other sports brands within the umbrella of the Quiksilver Inc. companies.

There will be skiing at The Canyons (on the limited snow that's left), concerts by groups with names such as the Supersonic Soul Pimps and various activities for 250 invited guests to kick back and have fun.

"This is a way to thank people out in the field, the 'shop rats' who work all winter long, for being part of the family," said Rossignol spokeswoman Nicole Pelletier noting that the public is invited to join the festivities at 4:20 p.m. Friday, when Thunderfist and Hell's Belle's perform at The Canyons.

But "Project C," the anniversary celebration's nickname, utilizing the Roman numeral for 100, is more than just marketing coordinator Susie English's way of keeping sales reps loyal to Rossignol and its sister companies - Dynastar, Lange, Gnu, Lib Technology and Roxy.

For Rossignol, this also is an opportunity to show off Park City and the Mountain Center, which is under construction at Kimball Junction. It will become home for the Quiksilver companies when completed this summer.

"There is no better place in North America for us, because of the proximity of the mountains and the diversity of things you can do here," said Group Rossignol Americas President Francois Goulet, a 46-year-old from Quebec who directs the operation here.

Park City's Olympic status and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s interest in the outdoor industry also motivated the move. "The Olympic facilities were an attraction," he said, "and the fact that your governor - I should say, our governor - is enthusiastic about the outdoors and how he wants to position Utah to take advantage of that."

With Rossignol's arrival, the state acquired a key industry player that employs about 200 people. Twenty-eight employees transferred from Vermont to the Mountain Center headquarters as part of the sales and marketing, accounting and customer service staffs. Rossignol also moved its warehouse from Clearfield to Ogden and expanded the shipping team there.

Salt Lake City native Steve Dudley is vice president of communications and sports marketing and a 34-year Rossignol employee. He said Quiksilver's acquisition and the relocation to Park City proved to be good moves for existing employees and a boost to recruitment efforts.

"We offered employees a one-year package, and if they did not like it here, we would pay their way to move back. Nobody has taken us up on that," he said. "This being the epicenter of mountain sports, we draw employees who eat, breathe and sleep what we do. They ski, mountain bike, climb, hike. It's a great labor force. Having employees who are die-hard participants makes it hard to move far from center in hitting a bull's-eye with our products."

mikeg@sltrib.com

Utah coup

* Quiksilver is creating a "Mountain Center" in Park City, consolidating the North American headquarters of its Rossignol, Dynastar, Roxy, Lange, Gnu and Lib Technology brands.

Rossignol at a glance

* FOUNDER: Abel Rossignol, a carpenter and dedicated skier, made solid wood skis in 1907.

* TRANSITION: Laurent Boix-Vives purchased the company in 1956 and started selling Rossignol skis worldwide.

* INNOVATION: In 1964, Rossignol introduced fiberglass skis. Its Lange brand made plastic boots with an inner liner in 1965. Rossignol added Nordic skis in 1970, snowboards in 1991, shaped skis in 1999.

* NEW ERA: In 2005, Rossignol was bought by Australian boardsport equipment manufacturer Quiksilver Inc.