DMT Stays Sharp In Marlborough | Under new ownership since 2005, company expands overseas
Photo/Amanda Roberge
CUTS LIKE A KNIFE: DMT President Mark Brandon says the international market makes up 25 percent of the business.
For a company that specializes in designing, creating and manufacturing implements that sharpen every tool imaginable, it’s imperative to stay on the cutting edge.
“We’re always working on new ideas,” said Mark Brandon, president of Diamond Machining Technology. The Marlborough-based manufacturing company, with 25 employees and 135 products, supplies its top-quality line of sharpeners to a number of retailers, suppliers and private entities — including a handful of Olympic speed-skating teams. “We are a passionate group of people,” he added. “And we like to think of ourselves as a cool, gutsy company.”
While surviving as a manufacturer in Massachusetts has its challenges — not the least of which include skyrocketing energy costs — DMT has stayed sharp in a struggling economy.
“Anything in your home or life that has an edge is eventually going to need to be sharpened,” Brandon said. From scissors to lawn- mower blades to fishing hooks, the need for DMT’s products go past traditional household kitchen knives. And the goal, for Brandon and his team at DMT is to find ways to make the act of sharpening accessible, easy and affordable.
“We keep our website loaded with how-to videos and tutorials so that we can be not only an innovation-leader but an education-leader,” Brandon said.
Razor’s Edge
While Brandon is open to sharing certain secrets of the sharpeners — including that dust-like crushed diamonds embedded in the honeycomb structures of the steel are the very essence of their design — he is careful to safeguard some processes a little more closely. The company has found that while imitation may, in some instances, be the sincerest form of flattery, there are limitations to that old cliché in the business world. Knock-offs of DMT products stream steadily out of China and may fool some people into thinking that the quality is an exact match as well.
Brandon purchased the company, which was founded in 1976, in 2005 to utilize his decades of experience with large multi-national conglomerates and run his own show. His wife Stacey joined the business a year later to assist with marketing, and they implemented some changes in the organizational structure. Since the ownership change, business has expanded to include nearly a dozen additional products and a stronger presence overseas.
“Nearly 25 percent of our business is international,” Brandon said, adding that he travels frequently to conferences and trade shows all over the globe. Customers know DMT for its commitment to quality, and when you are marketing your products in specialized circles — whether it’s the outdoor sporting niche or culinary equipment — word has a way of getting around without the help of the web.
According to Brandon, while the Internet hasn’t revolutionized business, it has certainly enhanced small sales to the unassuming homeowner.
“People can order our products through Amazon now, both here in the states and in the U.K…” he said. And so while DMT has long lived on the shelves at Woodcraft Supply and on the virtual shelves at knifecenter.com and sharpeningsupplies.com, now your Average Joe can hop on Amazon.com and have a sharpener shipped directly to his door.
Unlike the sharpening products that are geared specifically toward the chefs and the outdoorsmen of the world, the Double-sided DiaFold — a nail-file-esque sharpener which includes both coarse- and fine-grit options — is the company’s bestseller because of its wide-ranging usefulness.
“We want to let the world know that we are thinking differently,” Brandon said. “It’s important to us that our customers know we are paying attention to the trends and to their needs.”
A recent addition to the product line is DMT’s Diamond Wave, a sharpener that features unique convex/concave design, affording longer sharpening strokes that can accommodate virtually any curved blade. The Wave, which was conceived by a team of designers who share a passion for creating top-quality products, is the recipient of two prestigious design awards from trade publications.
“It’s a great feeling for all of us to come to work knowing we work for the best in the business,” said Technical Director Stan Watson, who added that all of DMT’s employees take immense pride in their work. “But even knowing that, we are constantly looking for ways to improve and to grow.”
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