Climbing, ski and backcountry gear company Black Diamond Equipment Ltd. has opened a new operation in Zhuhai, China.

The Asian expansion completes a two-year, multi-million dollar capital investment programme that also saw the expansion of Black Diamond’s offices in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, as well as at the company’s European headquarters in Basel, Switzerland.

President and CEO Peter Metcalf commented, “As Black Diamond nears the end of its fiscal year, we’re seeing North American growth of roughly 20% complemented by 20% growth in most pre-season categories for Fall 2007 while pan Asian growth is running over 25%.”