Boart Longyear, a systems and services provider to the natural resources, construction and quarrying industries, said Thursday that it has moved its global headquarters from South Africa to Salt Lake City.

The company, which last year saw $1 billion in sales, already had operated a regional headquarters, along with a drill manufacturing plant, in Salt Lake.

"The decision to move the Boart Longyear headquarters from Johannesburg to Salt Lake City was based on the fact that a large portion of our customer base is located in the Americas," Boart chief executive Paul Brunner said in a prepared statement. "We have operated a regional headquarters and manufacturing plant in Salt Lake City for over 20 years, which gives us a head start in strengthening our relationship with the state of Utah and the city of Salt Lake.

"The international airport and the geographically central location for our mining customer base made Salt Lake an obvious choice for our global headquarters."

Elizabeth Dowd, Boart Longyear spokeswoman, said the company officially moved its headquarters to Utah in November, and as of a few weeks ago moved its global executive team into a newly renovated space near 2640 West and 1700 South.

A total of 50 new positions have been created at Boart Longyear's Salt Lake headquarters, including the executive team and representatives of its various regional offices (including the Netherlands and Australia).

In addition, Dowd said the company-owned manufacturing plant has 50 employees, with another 87 at the plant office. Boart Longyear also owns Lang Drilling in Salt Lake, which employs 150, plus 15 workers at the Lang offices. In total, Dowd said, the company employs about 360 workers in Utah — with more manufacturing, administrative and other jobs expected to open up as the company continues to grow.

"We are always looking for manufacturing/drilling people to fill any number of jobs," Dowd said. "Office positions are also constantly opening up, and we are filling them as fast as we can. There is without a doubt plenty of potential for more jobs in the future."

In his statement Thursday, Brunner said, "We are looking forward to continued growth, which has averaged 30 percent a year since 2002. This track record combined with our aggressive growth plans is a good foundation for a long and productive relationship with the state of Utah and the Salt Lake City community."

Michael Nelson, managing director of recruitment and incentives for Utah, said Boart Longyear made the decision to relocate without monetary incentives from the state.

"Basically, it was my understanding that because the world markets had changed, they felt that this was a better location for them to be," Nelson said. "They already had a drill manufacturing facility here and felt that this was a better place for them to be, for the tar sands and exploration business they're in.

"We think it's great to have international companies like Boart Longyear locating to Utah. It helps us attract other companies and other good, high-paying jobs."

Boart Longyear employs 7,000 people worldwide and operates in more than 30 countries. Its focus is four-fold: drilling services (mining and non-mining); exploration drilling tools and equipment; rock drills and other rock-drilling tools; and geo-environmental instrumentation, tools and equipment.

Advent International, a global buyout firm, is the majority owner of Boart Longyear. Advent bought Boart in July 2005 from Anglo American. Bain Company is Advent's investment partner.

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