Marmot Mountain, the fast-growing outdoor apparel maker, is planning to move its headquarters from Santa Rosa to more expansive digs in Rohnert Park this spring.
The company, which produces premium clothing, sleeping bags and other recreational gear, will take up quarters late next month at the former Next Level Communications campus on State Farm Drive.
"It fit the need for a creative, beautiful environment," said Alison Smith, the company's vice president of operations.
Marmot has signed leases for two buildings that will double its current space. They include a 43,000-square-foot headquarters building and 15,000 square feet of light manufacturing space, where it will fill high-end sleeping bags and create a product photo studio.
The company's Santa Rosa facility totals slightly less than 25,000 square feet of space.
Founded in 1974 in Colorado, the company moved to Sonoma County in 1990 and set up a 20-worker operation in Santa Rosa.
Today Marmot has 124 employees in Sonoma County and plans to hire 40 more over the next three years, Smith said. It already has converted part of a warehouse into office space, but still needs more room.
The company is on track to double its 2010 sales figures by 2014, Smith said. Growth is happening partly because more people want to get outdoors, she said, and partly because customers value Marmot's lifetime product warranty, its "engaging and current" colors and its diversity of items.
"We really have a broad product line that will outfit you no matter what you want to do," Smith said.
The company is part of Jarden Corp., a Rye, N.Y., company whose 60-plus brands include Sunbeam and Mr. Coffee. Its outdoor division features not only Marmot but also K2, Rawlings and Shakespeare. Jarden reported nearly $6.7 billion in sales last year.
Most of Marmot's products are made overseas in such countries as China, Vietnam and Costa Rica. The company has a 200,000-square-foot distribution center in Reno, Nev.
Marmot began looking more than a year ago to find a new facility somewhere between Petaluma and the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport. The company found the old Next Level campus last summer.
"We're a Sonoma County company and we want to stay that way," Smith said. One benefit is that it's easy for Marmot to attract potential workers here, she said.
Its arrival is welcome news for Rohnert Park, which has lost several major employers and more than 600 jobs to other cities over the last year. In May, CrossCheck, a 180-employee company that processes electronic checks, announced plans to move its operations to Petaluma. In July, State Farm Insurance moved 450 jobs to Bakersfield as part of a statewide office consolidation.
More than 45 percent of the city's office space is vacant, the highest rate of any market in the county, according to Keegan & Coppin.
Rohnert Park Mayor Jake Mackenzie said the city was delighted to "have a world-class operation selecting us as a place where they can do businesses."
"This is exactly the sort of company that we are anxious to have locate in our city," Mackenzie said.
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