BUSY IN THE BEEHIVE

Recreation and Aviation Industries See a Boost in Utah

By Headwaters News, 10-17-06

Say what you will about global warming, but Utah’s business climate is definitely heating up. The housing market has remained strong in the Salt Lake City metro area and in Washington County to the south. And as winter approaches, the ski industry is gearing up for another strong year.

One new sign that the state’s ski industry is doing well is the announcement by Amer Sports Corp., that it is moving its company's new combined U.S. headquarters for its Salomon, Atomic and Suunto brands of ski gear to Ogden, calling it the “next Boulder”. Ogden is already home to seven other ski companies, and has its own ambitions to become a hub for both recreationalists and the companies that support them with gear.

Mayor Matthew Godfrey told the Salt Lake Tribune: "We are committed to making Ogden the country's high-adventure recreation capital."

The new headquarters will cost nearly $3 million and employ about 230 senior sales and marketing executives, starting next summer. Average annual wage will be $67,983, which is three times the average for the rest of the county.

The state may also see a benefit if several top industry and local leaders decide to link the seven ski resorts along the Wasatch Range from Park City to the Canyons and including Snowbird, Alta, Solitude, Brighton and Deer Valley. Sen. Carlene Walker called the “25 most influential people in government, tourism and the ski industry” together for a meeting next month to discuss the possibility of connecting the ski areas via a system of roads and tunnels separate from Interstate 80 and the canyon roads.

The ambitious plan has been discussed before, but with skier numbers increasing along with the population, the idea may gain more traction this time around.

And in the aviation front, Adam Aircraft's 96,000-square-foot manufacturing facility near Ogden, scheduled to be completed next May, is expected to produce the company's A-700 light jet. The plant is also expected to ultimately bring 300 jobs to Utah and will be an anchor in the state’s budding aerospace industry.

Imagine what could happen if the ski industry got a hold of those jets….

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