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40 Years of Diamond Electronics
November 2019 marks 40 years of trading within the Electronics Industry for Diamond Electronics. Ray and Betty Hesketh formed the company on the dining room table of the family home, between their birthdays in late November and early December 1979. Throughout the years the business has continued to grow from strength to strength and exceeded the expectations of the founders.
Ray, who started his working life as an apprentice Electrical Engineer in a coal mine, then becoming an Electronics Engineer, moving to work in sales for a few companies in the component distribution market before starting the business.
Betty attended college and studied typing on a part-time basis. In the early days of the business, Betty worked several jobs; which included working in a pub at lunchtime and pressing men’s ties, as well as raising three children. When the business started to see significant growth, Betty began working full time in all aspects of the business.
Developing our offering
The business model focused on assisting customers “Design In” the right components for their application, then developed further by offering to source a complete BOM (bill of material) of electronic components. Simplifying the procurement process.
The concept worked well, the business grew, gradually moving from the dining room, up the hallway and to the lounge! Therefore, the decision to move the company to Newcastle Road, Congleton was made in 1982. Betty recalls the new premises lending itself well to the business. Betty remarked ‘Ray had a brilliant brain and was always thinking ahead.’
After the move to Congleton, the business continued to grow, and another plot was bought in Smallwood, the company moved there in 1994. These premises are still our Head Office now. The plot in Smallwood provided a launching pad for further growth. In 1994 the company was awarded the Investor in People Award, this was presented by Sir John Harvey Jones, TV’s original Trouble-shooter and Ex-Chairman of ICI.
Expansion of the company continues
In the following years, Diamond expanded, focusing on different product areas within the electronics industry to provide a variety of services to our customers. Ray was incredibly passionate about the business and worked hard to build relationships, understanding what customers wanted and listening to any feedback. To this day, this is something we thrive to achieve at Diamond to ensure that our customers are completely happy and that we continuously improve our product and service offers.
Betty, during the late ’90s, started a well-earned retirement. Ray relinquished his role of MD becoming Chairman in 2001.
As we reflect on the past 40 years, we would like to take time to say thank you to our staff for their commitment, our suppliers for the opportunity to build relationships with them over the years, and especially our customers.
The company has previously celebrated 10th and 25th Anniversaries. However, 2019 marks a tremendous achievement, 40 years since the founding. We are still making plans for growth through the ability to adapt to the external environment and the challenges faced.
Betty is proud of what the business has become and highlights the importance of how Ray kept to his roots throughout the establishment, and to this day!
‘I am glad it is still an independent family business.’
With the passing of Ray in 2017, the company is now run by Ray and Betty’s sons; Darren and Damien Hesketh and two other long-serving Directors, Peter Hall and Darren Spencer.
Betty still attends board meetings, keeping up to date with the major developments and decisions. Betty’s hopes for the future of Diamond is continued growth and that the team continue to enjoy the successful journey!