To weather the storm of the recession, that’s impressive. I mean, changing your business model, taking that leap – you must have a lot of faith in your product, Ethan. How have your truck covers evolved over the years? DiamondBack truck covers are in a constant state of evolution because we’re always seeking ways to make improvements on an already great, steady product. We’ve made improvements by lowering the weight of the cover while increasing its strength. We’ve improved our locking system, our hinge and weather seal designs, and our top coatings as well. The covers shipping today are the best quality covers we’ve ever made and we have ongoing plans to improve even more. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that many truck owners and lovers are skeptical at first glance of many accessories, even ones that come with a lifetime warranty. What makes your product so reliable and so revered? Jamie, it’s design and simplicity. The covers are designed to handle immense top loads. In fact, we’ve never had a DiamondBack HD cover broken by anything put on top of it. If you drastically overload it, the truck itself will break at some point but the cover won’t. One time a customer who was stuck in mud while off-road in Canada used one of his DiamondBack panels to shove under his tire for traction. After he got out, he slid the panel back on the cover and relocked it down, good as new.
“Our covers have always outlasted the trucks they’ve been on.” The truck culture I was referring to earlier is the one that’s undeniably ‘Made in the USA’ and embraced by hardworking, fun-loving people around the world – as you suggested. It must mean so much to you and your customers to see that label on the DiamondBack product. For sure. But building a manufacturing company that canprovidehigh value tocustomers andgood, stable wages to employees is an incredible challenge when making products in the USA. The low cost of labor and materials from overseas markets is a reality that any business has to face. Ultimately DiamondBack found it was unable to pursue the traditional manufacturing model of three-step distribution and be able to achieve our goals. The other parts of the cover like our locking system, for example, are just designed to be simple. We use a dead bolt style locking system that pushes steel rods under the bed of the truck. This doesn’t have quite the refined automotive styling with specially designed brackets or latches as some of our competitors, but it’s rugged and hard to break. Our covers have always outlasted the trucks they’ve been on. By offering a lifetime warranty, we’re really just telling customers about that fact. They will last you as long as you own your truck, or we’ll fix or replace it.
79 OCTOBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online