Fourteen years ago, long-time friends John Ayres, Tom Bryant and Darryl Gray decided to take a "punt" and purchase Double D Diamond Products, a small tooling business run from a home on the outskirts of Adelaide.

Pooling more than 30 years of experience in the tooling industry, the trio recognised an opportunity to grow the business by stepping up its production of industrial-strength diamond tipped tools.

These were increasingly in demand by automotive manufacturers who were becoming reliant on diamond tipped tools to machine non-ferrous alloys and high silicon aluminium-based vehicle components.

Today, the company produces a broad range of new tools from its Lonsdale operation for use in the automotive, mining, timber and manufacturing industries.

Supplying many of the major Australian-based automotive component and vehicle manufacturers including Holden, Mitsubishi, Castalloy and ROH, Double D Diamond Products also exports a selection of its tools to New Zealand, the United States and Asia.

More than half of the company's Australian sales are generated by businesses interstate.
"The high-tech, high-speed machinery used by the automotive industry relies on the high wear resistance of diamond tips to machine non¬ferrous materials, achieving a superior quality finish with extremely tight tolerances," Double D Diamond Products co-owner, Mr John Ayres, said.

"Vehicle components such as disk brakes, cylinder blocks and heads, transmission' systems and wheel rims are all manufactured using diamond tipped tools, which are primarily crafted from Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) and Polycrystalline Cubic Boron Nitride (PCBN).

"We now manufacture 12 times the amount of PCD and PCBN tools that we originally produced. This is a direct result of the continued movement towards more high-tech and high-volume machinery, which in turn increases the demand for diamond tipped tools."

Double D Diamond Products co-owner, Mr Darryl Gray, said the company's fast turn-around and delivery times for new and resharpened tools gave it a unique edge against its competitors.
"This places the company in a strong position to service its current and future customer requirements," he said.

"We are capable of manufacturing numerous types of tools in varied shapes and sizes," Double D Diamond Products co-owner, Mr Tom Bryant, said.

"They are extremely wear resistant and are the only tools capable of withstanding the high amounts of pressure created by the high-speed machines that are used to manufacturer automotive components."

In addition to the Lonsdale manufactured PCD and PCBN tooling, Double D Diamond imports and resells a broad range of industrial diamond tools, which are mainly used for industrial and optical glass processing.
Mr Ayres said BankSA had played a pivotal role in the company's growth over recent years.

"We have been with the Bank since day one and it has never let us down with lending support or advice," he said.
"BankSA Relationship Manager Lindsay McInnis visits us regularly and has really taken the time to get to know the business.
"The Bank has helped us to finance the purchase of our equipment and assets and will continue to play a major role into the future as we look to upgrade our machinery in order to keep pace with advances in technology. "