Diamond Liners Brings Family Values to Their Business Operations
Although the name “Diamond Liners” may bring to mind their polyurethane, hybrid and polyurea spray-on truck bed liners, the company has expanded its area of expertise well beyond their original service offering which the name describes. While Diamond Liners is still acknowledged as an authority in the bed liner field, over the years they have expanded their reputation as industry experts into the broader spray polyurethane and polyurea markets.
Founded in 1990 by John Bender and his father, Houston Bender, the company quickly became established as a market leader in the bed liner industry. In 1995, Diamond Liners expanded into the manufacturing and distribution of equipment and chemicals. In 1999, the company became an authorized distributor for Graco and now supplies a full line of spray foam parts and equipment from Graco, Gusmer and GlasCraft among others.
Working with polyurethane and polyurea since 1990, the company has amassed considerable knowledge of these materials. However, this experience isn’t their only differentiator. Justin Bender of Diamond Liners explains, “Being on the west coast helps us support our customers with more convenient hours. We often get late afternoon calls from contractors in desperate need of replacement parts, service and troubleshooting and our hours allow us to help them. We also carry a large supply of in-stock replacement parts to quickly support any contractor’s needs.”
Furthering the company’s focus on customer support, “We have created a user-friendly website geared towards foam and polyurea contractors. The site provides a valuable resource that can be accessed anywhere, so that wherever contractors are in the field they will always have the manuals and information they need to repair and troubleshoot any equipment problem they may experience.”
Another competitive advantage is the company’s impressive resources. In 1999, Diamond Liners invested in a new 11,247 square foot facility featuring environmentally safe and AQMD approved spray booths for chemical test sprays and in-house protective coating applications. “Doing test sprays and demos at our facility requires us to keep a wide variety of spray guns and mix modules on-hand. This keeps us current and up to date with the latest chemical developments.”
Another thing that stands out about Diamond Liners is the strong family values that the company maintains. Today, Diamond Liners is owned by founder John Bender and his sister, Danette. The Bender family has collectively operated family businesses since 1924, and as the company’s website points out, “Even after all these years, Diamond Liners continues to reflect the Bender family's lifelong commitment to exceptional customer service, industry expertise, honesty and a ‘can-do, will-do’ attitude.”
John has led by example to make this attitude a company-wide value. The company’s website features a profile of John that explains the origins of these principles.
“John Bender learned how to do his job the old fashioned way – with hard work, common sense and a solid commitment to customer service. John went from high school straight into the Bender family business. There, John learned the value of starting at the bottom and working his way up. He also picked up valuable hands-on technical skills that would serve him in his future career endeavors.”
“In December 1990, John founded Diamond Liners, Inc. He approached his new business with the same hands-on principles he was raised with – learn what you are selling before you go to sell it. For the first three years, John worked diligently to become skilled in the equipment, chemicals, surface preparation and application procedures for polyurethane chemicals before setting up other distributors. He understood the importance of learning his work inside and out, so he could be a technical resource for his distributors to call upon for advice, troubleshooting and customer solutions.”
“In 2000, John made the decision to further expand Diamond Liner’s focus to the industrial, commercial, residential and manufacturing industries along with mobilization of coatings. This was a turning point for the company in terms of establishing closer relationships with chemical companies and equipment manufacturers. In particular, Diamond Liners established itself in the area of preliminary testing prior to the implementation of new equipment and chemicals into the application arena.”
“Today, John Bender leads Diamond Liners with his work ethic, commitment to doing whatever it takes to find solutions for his customers and his unparalleled foundation of technical skills and knowledge. John is known by industry colleagues for his diverse knowledge of manufacturing, application and spray techniques. This expertise, combined with his ability to listen and quickly understand problems presented to him, make him an expert technical troubleshooter, in person and over the phone. John is always willing and eager to share the technical expertise he has acquired over the course of his 20-year career, with anyone who needs it.”
“The real value of our services is reflected in the smile on a client’s face for a job well done,” he says. “We will go out of our way to help our customers no matter how large or small the project is.”
For more information, visit www.diamondliners.com or call (800) 543-1212.