In the final Q&A session of 2022, we were able to get a few moments with our esteemed Managing Director, Andrew Gentle, who tells us about his 2022 highlights and how he'll be spending the festive period.
With the end of 2022 fast approaching, what has been your personal highlight this year?
“We have been able to visit trade shows again this year, attending JEC World in Paris in May and one of my favourites, glasstec in Duesseldorf (not just because of the food may I add). Seeing customers face to face is so vital to what we do here when it comes to bespoke Diamond Tooling solutions. Understanding a customer’s individual needs and trends in the industries we supply into is somewhat our bread and butter.”
You represented DK Holdings at UNICERA, Turkey’s leading trade show for the Ceramics, Kitchen and Bathroom sectors, in November – what are your takeaways from the show and what trends do you see for Diamond Tooling?
“We attended this fantastic trade show with Karopak, one of our valued partners in Turkey, whom we’ve worked with for many years now. I’ve had a number of conversations with customers and industry professionals while in Istanbul and the porcelain industry is a steadily growing market with many opportunities for our Diamond Tools, specifically our range of Flexible Diamond sheets which is one of the market leaders globally.”
The company introduced its Subcontract Manufacturing capabilities in the last quarter of 2022 – what is it that makes DK Holdings unique and the perfect choice for customers looking for precision engineering?
“We have for over 60 years manufactured bespoke accurate superabrasive Diamond tooling for our customers globally with our production facilities spanning over 4.000sqm of machinery, including manual, semi-automatic and automatic alongside a workforce that is incredibly knowledgeable, having built expertise over many years, partnered with new ideas through our engineering apprentices. It was a no-brainer for us to apply the same principles to sub-contract machining where we can produce the level of precision, quality and batch sizes our customers need.”
DK Holdings has continued to improve its green credentials, most recently by achieving Gold Membership status with The Green Organisation – what is in the pipeline for 2023?
“We have implemented a variety of measures to improve our green credentials in 2022, starting down the route of reducing our carbon footprint but not at this stage by offsetting. We will be instigating many changes over the next 12-24 months to drive our carbon footprint down with the first stage being the installation of additional solar panels onto the roof of our most recently built factory building.”
What trends have you seen in 2022 when it comes to Diamond Tooling?
“2022 has been a challenging year on the back of the previous two tricky years for everyone. Growth in the UK market has been much welcomed with Export sales showing signs of recovery with some very encouraging growth over the past few months. What sets us apart is our ability to manufacture bespoke Diamond tooling in small quantities as well as one-offs and has once again held us in good stead with our CNCs still busy on larger production runs too.“
What can we look forward to in 2023?
“I’m hopeful that the growth we have been seeing over the last quarter of 2022 will continue into 2023. One of our major strengths is that we have a stable, highly qualified and flexible workforce coupled with a company based on solid principles so I think we are ready for whatever comes next.“
And lastly – how will you be spending Christmas and New year?
“I will probably be surrounded by my wonderful family, enjoying a few festive foods and beverages while relaxing before the madness of 2023 commences!”