Doppelmayr USA nearly doubled its Salt Lake City manufacturing footprint with a 160,000-square-foot headquarters that opened Oct. 19, as the lift maker continues supplying ropeway systems for Deer Valley Resort's expansion.
The company's 2024–25 annual report identified 11 ropeway installations in Deer Valley's expansion project. Five chairlifts had been built at the time of that report, including three that began operating during the 2024–25 ski season.
One of those was the Keetley Express, Deer Valley's first detachable six-person chairlift.
Gov. Spencer Cox joined Doppelmayr USA President Keith Johns and company Chairman Michael Doppelmayr at the Oct. 19 ribbon-cutting ceremony near Salt Lake City International Airport, according to Lift Blog.
Twenty-seven employees with more than 20 years at the company participated in the ribbon-cutting.
The new building sits directly east of Doppelmayr's existing headquarters at 3160 West 500 South. It includes approximately 120,000 square feet of indoor production and warehouse space, 40,000 square feet of offices and training rooms, and 68,000 square feet of covered outdoor space.
The company confirmed the opening in an Oct. 23 announcement, saying the expanded campus will support manufacturing, engineering, customer service and technical training across North America.
The larger plant allows Doppelmayr to manufacture conical steel lift towers in Utah for the first time. Those components, used on some of the company's detachable lift systems, previously came from its Austrian operations.
The facility also includes new automated manufacturing equipment and dedicated training space for lift operators and technicians.
Doppelmayr first announced the expansion in 2024, saying its existing facility had become too small as ski resorts continued investing in new lifts.
The Utah Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity approved a post-performance tax incentive for the project in June 2024. Under that agreement, the company projected adding 130 jobs in Utah over 10 years, generating approximately $82.4 million in wages.
Those figures were projections made when the incentive was approved, not a count of jobs already created.
Doppelmayr has designed and manufactured lift systems in Salt Lake City for more than 20 years. Its expanded operations will serve ski resorts and other ropeway customers throughout the United States and Canada.
The company also supplies transportation systems outside the ski industry, including an automated people mover project at Newark Liberty International Airport.
