Black Diamond News: 2013 Apparel with Schoeller and in house ski manufacturing

As the year comes to an end, there are two Black Diamond news stories worth noting:

First, Black Diamond is launching an apparel collection in fall 2013 (we knew that one already) and they are teaming up with Schoeller Textiles and Nanosphere Technology. Whats does this mean? Think soft shell ski touring specific clothing that repels water and dirt. The Backcountry Skiing Canada team will be at the SIA show in just a few weeks so we will be keeping our eyes out for the new clothing line in advance of it's fall retail launch. More on this news item below and stay tuned for news from the show at months end.

Black Diamond Equipment, a leading global innovator in climbing, skiing and mountain sports equipment, announces Schoeller® Textiles as a partner for their Fall 2013 apparel launch. Highlighting this new partnership, Black Diamond Equipment will introduce a complete collection of Schoeller products as the central component of its new apparel line.

“Over a decade ago we helped introduce Schoeller Textiles to the North American market with products for alpinists, climbers and backcountry skiers,” states Tim Bantle, Director of Apparel for Black Diamond Equipment. “With the launch of our apparel in Fall 2013, we are reawakening this relationship and will provide our core customers with the best performing soft-shell products on the market.”

Black Diamond Equipment’s collection is built around two key material platforms: Schoeller Textiles and Nanosphere® Technology. Schoeller fabrics, trusted by climbers, skiers and mountain athletes around the world, are engineered for dynamic movement in situations where performance matters. Nanosphere is highly effective at repelling water, dirt, oil, is naturally self-cleaning and adds a high level of additional abrasion resistance. Nanosphere is incredibly long lasting and can stand up to the effects of long-term wear and multiple washings. It also can be refreshed with a quick heat treatment in the dryer. Additionally, Nanosphere Technology is bluesign® approved.

“We are very pleased that Black Diamond Equipment has selected Schoeller as a partner in their new apparel collection,” says Tom Weinbender, President of Schoeller Textil USA. “It is very exciting to work with a company that continually brings the most advanced technologies and fabrics to market.”

Accompanying the launch of the Fall 2013 apparel collection, Black Diamond Equipment is proud to announce its participation with bluesign technologies as a system partner. Bantle comments, “We’ve deliberately chosen to make the bluesign system the cornerstone of our approach to sustainability and supply chain management.” According to Jeff Nash, Vice President of Engineering Services at Black Diamond, Inc. and leader of materials engineering, “Participating as a bluesign system partner assures us that both the raw materials and production processes are optimized for resource productivity while ensuring environmental protection, worker health and safety, as well as end-consumer safety.”

The second story is about bringing Black Diamonds ski manufacturing in-house, a new 43,000 square foot, state-of-the-art factory will be producing the new 2013/2014 ski line. This means better quality control for skis from start to finish, more on this below as well.

Black Diamond, Inc., a leading global provider of outdoor recreation equipment and active lifestyle products, has established a wholly-owned ski manufacturing factory at its Black Diamond Equipment Asia operations in Zhuhai, China.

The all-new, 43,000 square foot, state-of-the-art ski factory has begun to produce salesmen samples of Black Diamond’s 2013/2014 ski line, incorporating new manufacturing processes that are expected to allow for significant performance enhancements and a higher level of quality control.

“Our decision to bring Black Diamond’s ski manufacturing in-house represents a significant expansion of our manufacturing footprint, and demonstrates our commitment to the category and passion for the sports we serve,” said Peter Metcalf, president and CEO of Black Diamond. “We already manufacture approximately 30% to 35% of our proprietary products in-house, so we are confident in our capabilities. We believe ski manufacturing will allow us to be more responsive to our customers while maintaining a competitive pricing position and equally important, sustain, if not improve, the highest level of quality and performance which is synonymous with the Black Diamond brand.” 

Black Diamond’s 2013/2014 ski line will include performance advancements to its signature Formula One Technology™ and 3D forming of rails, and stand out with beautifully executed graphics. Other details remain confidential at this time.

Mark Ritchie, Black Diamond’s COO, commented: “The construction of this facility is a prominent addition to our Black Diamond Equipment Asia campus and advances upon our strategy to invest in and expand our manufacturing footprint. Its world-class manufacturing capabilities are expected to allow us to significantly enhance our ski product line, which we believe will forever change the way the market perceives Black Diamond skis and our global brand.”