Peter Metcalf
President
and CEO, Black Diamond Equipment
Part
One and Part Two
January, 2008--
He led the
group that formed Black Diamond out of the ashes of what had
been Chouinard Equipment, moved the new firm to Utah where it
has become an economic and industry leader both locally and within
the outdoor equipment business itself. Peter Metcalf battled
a governor in defense of wild lands, while successfully serving
the needs of core climbers, telemark and backcountry skiers,
and building a company with annual revenues rumored to now be
in the $70 million range. The always outspoken CEO is very proud
of |
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BD's new line
of telemark and alpine touring boots, a line that debuted to
much interest here at the OR show this week. In Part One
of our interview, we talked to Peter about the new boots, his
and the local outdoor industry's battle with the state of Utah,
some plastic boot history, and even a little about the status
of BD's new telemark binding/boot system.
In Part Two, Metcalf continues talking
about BD's binding project, observing that with BD's historical
experience in mind, in particular with the Skyhoy, a new proprietary
telemark norm system has to be "knockout," and "it's
got to be at the same level that our boots are at, and if it's
not, there will be no compelling reason for people to buy it....
it's going to be stillborn." We discussed the advanced features
common to the new NTN system and BD's nascent binding. Despite
admitting that the topic is a source of debate within his company,
when asked if he thought these advanced features will contribute
to bringing more people into the sport of telemark skiing, Metcalf
downplayed their importance, "I think at the end of the
day what attracts people to telemarking is the turn, the grace
of the turn, the power of the turn... and I'm not sure that just
step-in, and even releasable, will be that much of a catalyst
to getting more people into (the sport). I think that those that
are in (the sport) will greatly appreciate it." These latter
comments were of particular interest to us, in that they may
indicate a general shift in BD's attitude toward an advanced
feature tele binding system. One year ago, Metcalf told
us flat out,
"This new system will grow the sport of telemark skiing...
(addressing) issues of weight, release and step-in ease..."
Moving on, we talked
a bit about BD's corporate culture, history, and Metcalf's vision
for its future. Our discussion moved back into the product area
when we brought up BD's Avalung program, the sometimes feisty
head honcho softened as he described how great it is to hear
from people who feel their lives were saved by an Avalung. Winding
things up while hearkening back to the early days of Black Diamond,
Metcalf recalls a wild ride, yet he observes that "when
you have nothing, it's pretty easy to gamble it all.... in the
first few months of BD, a whole bunch of us actually slept in
the orange groves in Ventura behind the building and used the
shower we had set up for manufacturing. We've evolved and changed,
but I don't think we have forgotten our roots."
All this and much
more can be found in both Part One and Part Two. |