A British mountaineering clothing and outdoor gear company has established its North American headquarters in Louisville.

Rab opened an office, showroom and warehouse at 685 South Arthur Ave., a 3,000-square-foot space that will house sales, marketing and distribution operations.

Rab joins a number of other athletic and outdoor gear companies that have made similar moves recently in basing some of their operations in Boulder County.

Founded by climber Rab Carrington in 1981, Rab's products include outdoor apparel, sleeping bags and gear designed for extreme cold.

Louisville's geographic location and the area's wealth of outdoors enthusiasts and knowledgeable work force were some of the primary reasons Rab selected Louisville over others such as Salt Lake City, Seattle and Burlington, Vt., said Matt Gowar, Rab's chief executive officer and owner. Gower founded Rab's parent company, Equip Outdoor Technologies, in 1993.

About five people -- including Gowar, who relocated his family to Boulder for a three-year period -- work at the Louisville office. The intention is to soon grow that number to eight employees, he said.

By having a presence in North America, Rab should be able to further address the growing popularity of its products and different desires than the European market, notably a higher demand in winter-oriented items, Gowar said.

"The business has been growing here," he said. "Today the market is a little tougher ... but we're predicting things will get better."

Gowar's optimism is based on his view that Rab is providing something different than its competitors.

"A lot of the name brands, some you see on Pearl Street, including North Face and Patagonia are becoming more lifestyle (brands)," he said. "We're remaining very technical. There's a demand from the consumer for that technical brand."

Within the past three years, a number of outdoor companies selected Boulder for unique elements of their businesses, including:

-- Yoga and climbing apparel company prAna opened its first and flagship brick-and-mortar store on the Pearl Street Mall in 2007.

-- Also in 2007, Australian technical athletic apparel maker Skins chose Boulder as the hub for its U.S. headquarters, but last month moved those operations to California.

-- Earlier this year, Gramicci, a California climbing and outdoor clothing company, opened a showroom in downtown Boulder to serve as a central hub for some of the retailers that carry the products.

-- The North Face and Patagonia also opened new retail stores at Twenty Ninth Street and the Pearl Street Mall, respectively.

The outdoor industry has not been immune from the ills of the recession. For the first eight months of the year, sales totaled $2.9 billion, a 5 percent decline from the same period last year, according to the Outdoor Industry Association, a Boulder-based trade organization.

During the month of August, sales in the industries four major categories -- equipment, equipment accessories, apparel and footwear -- were down, according to an Oct. 7 report from the association.

Some "bright spots" noted by the industry include: hiking boots, multi-sport shoes, recreational tents and some accessories, according to the report.

Contact Camera Business Writer Alicia Wallace at 303-473-1332 or wallacea@dailycamera.com.