Company led by former Skullcandy CEO moves global headquarters to Sugar House
Sep 18, 2015 11:28PM ● By Rhett Wilkinson
Traeger Pellet Grills has new global headquarters in Sugar House. It moved from Portland. Photo courtesy Alan Seko
By
Rhett Wilkinson
Traeger Pellet Grills is about creativity. So is Sugar House.
But the commonality is merely one reason why the counter-culture city is a “great place” for the innovative grill company to relocate its global headquarters, a Treager executive said.
“Traeger is an outdoor cooking brand, and outdoor cooking, by nature, is about creativity and in particular, the outdoors,” Vice President of Marketing Sean Laughlin said. “We felt that Sugar House is a great place for us to be located based upon the diversity, the creativity, and the value placed in outdoor spaces that this neighborhood provides.”
The company made the move from Portland this week into a 28,000-square foot location in the 1215 Wilmington Building, where more than 100 employees will be based, according to a press release.
The decision-maker was Jeremy Andrus, Traeger CEO and former top man at Skullcandy.
“We’re thrilled to be relocating our company’s global headquarters from Oregon to the great state of Utah,” Andrus said. “We’re looking forward to building another great brand right here at home and to being a contributing member of the community. We’ve been hard at work building a new, unique office in Sugar House that will reflect the DNA of our brand and inspire our team and our customers alike. The design concept connects people to our product with elements of reclaimed wood from both of our homes – Oregon and now Utah – fire, steel, and sophisticated electronics.”
After 14 years in Utah, Andrus is impressed by the strength of Utah’s talent pool and friendliness of the business environment. Laughlin said that the many other area businesses in the recreation and lifestyle brand space means that they can attract and retain top-level talent.
Some of the 100 employees are moving from Portland and many will be new hires for the company. Approximately 30 Traeger employees will remain in Portland to work in customer service and information technology.
Andrus has also been “blown away” by Traeger’s “cult-like” following among outdoor cooking and barbecue enthusiasts since taking over in Jan. 2014, he said in a press release.
“If you’ve ever experienced food cooked on a Traeger, you know that everything just tastes better cooked over a wood flame,” he said. “Wood-smoked food cannot be matched by propane or charcoal.”
The interior space is being designed by Method Studio, an architectural/design firm. Work station design is being done by Henriksen Butler. Traeger officials said that state-of-the-art indoor kitchen/classroom/studio will be used for broadcast recording, public grilling and barbecue classes, dining events and pop-up restaurants. The outdoor deck that surrounds the Traeger interior space will also include a kitchen/grilling area.
Traeger Pellet Grills is about creativity. So is Sugar House.
But the commonality is merely one reason why the counter-culture city is a “great place” for the innovative grill company to relocate its global headquarters, a Treager executive said.
“Traeger is an outdoor cooking brand, and outdoor cooking, by nature, is about creativity and in particular, the outdoors,” Vice President of Marketing Sean Laughlin said. “We felt that Sugar House is a great place for us to be located based upon the diversity, the creativity, and the value placed in outdoor spaces that this neighborhood provides.”
The company made the move from Portland this week into a 28,000-square foot location in the 1215 Wilmington Building, where more than 100 employees will be based, according to a press release.
The decision-maker was Jeremy Andrus, Traeger CEO and former top man at Skullcandy.
“We’re thrilled to be relocating our company’s global headquarters from Oregon to the great state of Utah,” Andrus said. “We’re looking forward to building another great brand right here at home and to being a contributing member of the community. We’ve been hard at work building a new, unique office in Sugar House that will reflect the DNA of our brand and inspire our team and our customers alike. The design concept connects people to our product with elements of reclaimed wood from both of our homes – Oregon and now Utah – fire, steel, and sophisticated electronics.”
After 14 years in Utah, Andrus is impressed by the strength of Utah’s talent pool and friendliness of the business environment. Laughlin said that the many other area businesses in the recreation and lifestyle brand space means that they can attract and retain top-level talent.
Some of the 100 employees are moving from Portland and many will be new hires for the company. Approximately 30 Traeger employees will remain in Portland to work in customer service and information technology.
Andrus has also been “blown away” by Traeger’s “cult-like” following among outdoor cooking and barbecue enthusiasts since taking over in Jan. 2014, he said in a press release.
“If you’ve ever experienced food cooked on a Traeger, you know that everything just tastes better cooked over a wood flame,” he said. “Wood-smoked food cannot be matched by propane or charcoal.”
The interior space is being designed by Method Studio, an architectural/design firm. Work station design is being done by Henriksen Butler. Traeger officials said that state-of-the-art indoor kitchen/classroom/studio will be used for broadcast recording, public grilling and barbecue classes, dining events and pop-up restaurants. The outdoor deck that surrounds the Traeger interior space will also include a kitchen/grilling area.
Traeger was founded in 1985 in Oregon by Joe Traeger. It operates warehouse and logistics locations in Oregon, Colorado and Tennessee. The company maintained a facility in Springville before its Sugar House move and has a team in China that manufactures quality and supply chain management.
