Manufacturer of equipment for climbing, skiing, and mountain sports
Black Diamond Equipment
is a manufacturer of equipment for climbing, skiing, and
mountain sports
, based in
Utah
, United States. The company also has a global office in
Innsbruck
, Austria. The company is owned by Clarus Corporation, which also owns Pieps, ClimbOn! Skincare, and
Sierra Bullets
.
[1]
[2]
History
[
edit
]
Black Diamond Equipment's history dates from 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 Ltd.
was born soon after in
Ventura, California
.
[3]
In early 1989, after several product-liability lawsuits and a continued lack of profitability, Yvon Chouinard placed the company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
[4]
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
.
[5]
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. The resulting corporation was renamed and is now publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the name CLAR.
[6]
In 2015, Black Diamond announced they would be expanding their Utah manufacturing facility.
[7]
In 2016, they announced they would be moving their European headquarters from Reinach to
Innsbruck
in Austria.
[8]
Products
[
edit
]
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
.
Over the years, Black Diamond has acquired and integrated several gear companies into its line, including Bibler tents (1997), Ascension climbing skins (1999), and Franklin climbing products (1998). In 2010, they acquired Gregory Mountain Products, a manufacturer of backpacks, but later sold it to luggage maker
Samsonite
in 2014.
[9]
Notable Black Diamond products include
spring-loaded camming devices
called
Camalot
and Magnetron carabiners, auto-locking carabiners that use magnets in the gate, and a steel insert in the carabiner's nose for added security.
[10]
As is common in safety-equipment industries, Black Diamond have issued many
product recalls
following safety concerns.
[11]
Social justice and environmentalism
[
edit
]
When the Instagram page of Black Diamond posted a black page in solidarity with anti?police violence protesters on June 5, 2020, in which Black Diamond pledged $250,000 to support access to the outdoors by athletes of color, the company acknowledged it was aware of "widespread concerns" about its "association" with Clarus Corporation chief executive Warren Kanders, who also leads Safariland, the company which manufactured the tear gas widely used against protesters.
[12]
Activists have
called for a boycott of
Black Diamond over these ties, which has been embraced by various climbing-related organizations.
[13]
Safariland announced the divestiture of its crowd control products divisions, including tear gas, on June 9, 2020.
[14]
The Clarus Corporation also faced criticism for a lack of diversity from pension fund giant CalPERS, who recommended in June 2020 that Clarus shareholders vote against re-electing executive chairman and largest shareholder Warren Kanders and two other board members.
[15]
CalPERS owns 52,000 shares
[16]
out of approximately 29,759,000 outstanding shares,
[17]
or 0.175 percent. On June 9, 2020, Warren Kanders and other board members were re-elected to the board of directors.
[18]
Black Diamond's parent the Clarus Corporation also owns ammunition company
Sierra Bullets
. In 2018, the company monitored discussions regarding the role of guns in the outdoor industry for boycotts.
[19]
Former
[20]
Black Diamond CEO Peter Metcalf had a history of political advocacy for both the outdoor industry and the public lands of Utah, and united with other outdoor companies against policies that threaten public lands and outdoor recreation.
[21]
[22]
Black Diamond says that they recycle as much waste as possible, make substantial use of wind and solar power, and support environmental non-profit bodies.
[23]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Mike Gorell (May 10, 2010).
"Utah's Black Diamond Equipment sold for $90 million"
.
Salt Lake Tribune
. Retrieved
March 4,
2016
.
- ^
"Black Diamond Completes Sale of POC to Investcorp for $65 Million"
. August 10, 2015.
- ^
"Company History: Beginnings and Blacksmithery"
. Patagonia
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
- ^
"Suits Force Mountain Gear Firm to File for Bankruptcy"
.
Los Angeles Times
. May 11, 1989
. Retrieved
April 13,
2020
.
- ^
Peter Metcalf (April 1, 1995).
"Lessons Learned"
.
Inc Magazine
. Retrieved
March 4,
2016
.
- ^
Black Diamond (August 10, 2017).
"Press Release: Black Diamond, Inc. to Change Name to Clarus Corporation"
. Clarus Corporation
. Retrieved
June 4,
2020
.
- ^
"Black Diamond is Here to Stay"
. Utah Policy. February 16, 2015
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
- ^
Black Diamond (January 14, 2016).
"Black Diamond Equipment Relocates European Headquarters and Appoints Tim Bantle to Managing Director"
.
Yahoo Finance
. Archived from
the original
on March 7, 2016
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
- ^
"Black Diamond sells Gregory to Samsonite"
.
SNews
. June 19, 2014
. Retrieved
November 7,
2018
.
- ^
David Crothers (July 13, 2011).
"New Magnetron Carabiner Technology from Black Diamond"
. Climberism Magazine
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
- ^
"Product recalls"
. Black Diamond
. Retrieved
March 3,
2016
.
- ^
"Maker of tear gas used on D.C. protesters gets millions from federal government"
.
CBS News
. June 8, 2020
. Retrieved
June 22,
2020
.
- ^
"Boycott Black Diamond"
. Retrieved
June 22,
2020
.
- ^
Pogrebin, Robin (June 9, 2020).
"Warren Kanders Says He Is Getting Out of the Tear Gas Business"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
June 26,
2020
.
- ^
"Maker of tear gas used on Washington, D.C., protesters will exit business"
.
CBS News
. June 10, 2020
. Retrieved
June 22,
2020
.
- ^
"Key Decisions"
.
CalPERS
. Retrieved
June 26,
2020
.
- ^
www.sec.gov
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/913277/000110465920059571/tm2014674d1_10q.htm
. Retrieved
June 26,
2020
.
- ^
www.sec.gov
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/913277/000110465920071382/m2022056d1_8k.htm
. Retrieved
June 26,
2020
.
- ^
"Guns and the outdoor industry: Where do we go from here?"
. SNEWS. April 7, 2018
. Retrieved
June 4,
2020
.
- ^
Lauren Steele (August 14, 2014).
"Black Diamond President Peter Metcalf Steps Down"
.
Outside magazine
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
- ^
"2003 Golden Piton Awards - Service"
.
Climbing
. March 31, 2004
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
- ^
Michael Frank (August 7, 2012).
"Black Diamond CEO Fights for Utah Environment ? Against Utah Politicians"
. Adventure Journal. Archived from
the original
on March 10, 2016
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
- ^
"Sustainability"
. Black Diamond. Archived from
the original
on March 8, 2016
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]
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