For our next Q&A session, we are excited to sit down with our Finance Director/Company Secretary, Darren Mills, to give some insight into how the company has been weathering 2022’s challenges so far.
Hello Darren, firstly we’d like to know more about yourself, how long have you been with Team DK?
“I joined DK Holdings in October 1986 as Junior Accounts Clerk after a short stint in the Royal Navy and began my career in the Accounts department and become Finance Director in 2015. I also spent a few years in between in our Front Office department to gain an insight into all areas of the company and how these all work and fit together.”
Supply chain issues, Covid-19, and Brexit continue to impact manufacturers across the UK. How is DK Holdings managing the financial risks and counteracting these?
“DK Holdings is an established business, founded in 1959, supplying Diamond Tooling solutions worldwide. Some of our customers have been with us from the start and we’ve got trusted partnerships across the industries we supply. The company is fortunate enough to own the land and buildings, with our state-of-the-art production facilities being close to 4,000 sqm in size, partly running off solar energy through panels we installed on our new production hall in 2015. We managed to weather all challenges thrown at us due to the fantastic people we have, with some team members who have been here longer than me as well as our apprentices across departments who with their new ideas and approaches help us to continuously evolve and improve. The company also has a healthy bank balance and balance sheet which we are very proud of.”
You are the lead for Compliance and were instrumental in DK Holdings achieving its ISO certifications, ISO 9001 and ISO 45001, what’s the next for the team?
“Our Compliance Department is fantastic, they’ve worked incredibly hard over the past twelve months and have just implemented an Environmental Policy in our drive to continuously improve our green credentials. We are passionate about “being green” as well as ensuring that our customers can continue to work with us in the knowledge that we strive for improvement and transparency every day. Additional Solar Panels are due to be installed to continue the company’s drive to move to renewable energy sources – watch this space!”
You are an advocate when it comes to charitable work and supporting the local community, which ones are the company supporting this year and why have you chosen them?
“We’ve supported the local Football team, Staplehurst Monarchs, for many years as we strongly believe in giving young people in the community a chance to be active. It’s so vital since Covid-19 first hit and the various lockdowns young people endured which had adverse effects on so many. Other causes are very much suggested by the team for individual reasons, for example Barnardo’s, Shine, MIND, Marie Curie and Lymphoma Research to name a few. Our people are fantastic when it comes to charitable giving.
Due to their generosity, we were awarded the Charitable Giving’s Diamond Awards 2022 earlier this year which makes me very proud to be part of team DK.”
Final question Darren – how do you relax away from your duties as Finance Director and Company Secretary at DK Holdings?
“What always relaxes me is spending time with my wife and our two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. The children are now both grown up which means I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like to sadly. I won’t say no to a spot of golf and fishing or just binge-watching TV with a cuppa.”