John Burns, Managing Director of The Diamond Group, talks to Jackie Marston about their success from humble beginnings.
Can you imagine? You decide to set up in an industry that you know a lot about, you buy a second-hand photocopier, fix it up and sell it for a profit and get such an amazing buzz from the achievement that you realise you’ve found your vocation in life?
Well, that’s just what happened to John Burns, MD of The Diamond Group based in Team Valley, Gateshead. He told us from humble beginnings how The Diamond Group went from that one photocopier to a company now hiring 20 staff, with huge offices in the Team Valley, a turnover of £1.6M and four arms to their business; Copiers, Asset Finance, IT and Telecoms.
Well that was an amazing 25 years ago and a whole lot has changed since then.
“I’ve always been ambitious, but that first sell gave me a real buzz and I knew then that is what I wanted to do.” He told us.
From then, the company has grown steadily from its Boldon offices where it was housed for 23 years and the place was bulging at the seams!
John continued: “It was starting to get a bit cramped there especially with the expansion of the company and the increase of staff. Staff were hot-desking and there was a definite claustrophobic feel to the place, however it was a great building for us for 23 years, so I have no complaints.
“Since we set up 25 years ago we’ve acquired several other businesses and incorporated them into the Diamond Group to offer our clients an all-round company that’s both cost-effective as well as reliable – the things that have seen us prosper when others have failed.”
As the company has grown and taken on other divisions under the umbrella of Diamond, then so has the directorships and John is proud to work with Gary Rodgers (Telecoms), Colin Grant (IT) and Hazel Burns, who happens to be John’s wife, in the Finance Department.
“It works well because we each have our own goals and objectives for our different departments, but also we work as a good team for the greater good of the Diamond Group as a whole,” John explained.
As their aim is, and always will be, to offer fantastic customer service at a competitive price, John is proud that many of their clients have been with them since day one. “It’s a testament to the dedication of The Diamond Group team that we have an amazing reputation for delivering on our promises and that’s probably why many of our staff have been with us for many years too, as their work ethos is the same as the management team, and as they say, you’re only as good as your workforce!”
Preparations are in progress for The Diamond Group to celebrate 25 years in business and invitations are being sent out now so what is next in store for the guy with extremely itchy feet to move onto the next project?
“Well, we do have a few offers on the table that the directors and I need to look at but for the time being, as we are expanding on a weekly basis with clients realising that we have a lot more to offer other than just photocopiers. We just have to make sure that we maintain our excellent customer service standards by ensuring that we employ the right people to join our team, after all, it’s this that keeps us at the forefront of the industry we’re proud to represent.
“As technology is moving at such a fast pace, we know that in order to keep our impeccable record of customer service then we have to make sure we not only move with the times, but be ahead of them and this is something that we do well and will continue to do in the future.”
Well if the first 25 years is anything to go by, the determination of John and The Diamond Group’s team, then I am sure that it’ll only be a matter of time before the next expansion story emerges…as he says at the end of our interview: “Watch this space!”
