Spotlight
Diamond Electronics: continuity, competence and supply-chain resilience
Diamond Electronics, now in its 47th year of trading, is a third-generation, family-owned UK distributor specialising in electronic components, kitting services, power technologies, HMI solutions and technical support. Based in Cheshire, the company combines long-standing engineering expertise with a broad supplier network to help customers bring innovative products and systems to market. CIE Magazine sat down with group MD Darren Hesketh at Hardware Pioneers Max in June to learn more about Diamond’s approach, capabilities and direction.
CIE: How would you describe the company’s role in today’s electronics industry? Darren Hesketh (DH): Our role is to help customers manage their entire supply chain — from BOM (bill of materials) control and obsolescence to strategic stock acquisition. Technical competence has always been central to the business. Customers value speaking to people who genuinely understand the technologies they’re working with.
CIE: Diamond is a third-generation family business. What has that continuity meant for your culture and long-term approach? DH: I was my parents’ first employee. My brother joined in the early 90s, and my daughter joined four years ago. But the “family” extends far beyond us — we have colleagues with 25 years’ service, others with 10 years, and many who’ve grown from junior roles into senior management. Customers appreciate that continuity. They speak to the same people year after year. We’re not part of the corporate cycle of constantly changing account managers. As a privately owned SME, we follow our own path.
CIE: Stepping into the group MD role, what have been your priorities in shaping the business for the next phase? DH: Every era brings its own challenges — geopolitics in the Middle East, unpredictable politicians, the credit crunch, COVID. There’s no manual for any of it. You plot a way through, correct mistakes quickly and hold
32 July/August 2026 Darren Hesketh, group MD, Diamond Electronics
onto what made you successful: asking customers what they need and delivering it. Large companies can be incredibly innovative, but smaller organisations have shorter decision-making chains. If someone has a problem, I hear about it quickly and can support them directly. That agility is a real advantage.
Components in Electronics
CIE: Diamond spans component distribution, kitting, power products, HMI solutions and technical support. Which areas are driving the strongest customer demand? DH: The biggest growth is in our HMI offer and our power product portfolio. We’re
helping customers embrace new interface technologies and new power architectures, and we’re supporting them in getting products to market.
If they trust us with the part of the product their own customers touch, or with the power subsystem that keeps the design running, they often trust us
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