We have some basic principles that guide us in fulfilling our mission as a business.
We are a sales and service company that specializes in small-engine equipment. We don’t just sell products; we consult with our customers to determine the best product for their needs. If we don’t have the correct solution, we direct the customer to a company that can provide the solution.
We do lots of work in the community with donations of labour and equipment to support everything from youth groups to organizations like ABA and the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce. We also support AOK in their assistance to families in need. I own just about everything we sell, or else I’ve owned it at some point in my life—I’m a collector, and I’m always tinkering with little engines.
We live, work, and play in Aldergrove, and we wanted to bring something to the community that would draw customers here.
Service
How does a small company compete with the proliferation of big-box stores dotting the Lower Mainland? The answer is simple: provide good service. We treat our customers with respect; we make their shopping experience fun, and that’s easy, because we’re having a ball. Our customers are laughing with us.
We’re not just trying to sell an item—we want the best solution for the task at the best price. That is based on our philosophy of the greater good for the greater number; profit without that is not our primary focus. We focus on what’s best for our suppliers, our customers, and our company.
We offer competitive pricing while at the same time offering the highest level of service. That generates returns to us. It’s not about blowing products out the door or making the biggest number on a single sale. We’re part of your community, and when you’re here, you’re part of our family.
Bruce Heslop
Growing up on a small farm led me to playing with small-engine machines, including lawn mowers, snowmobiles, and motorcycles. I was always working with tools, sometimes much to my father’s disgust if I didn’t put his tools away! The passion never left. I have more small-engine “toys” in my garage than anyone I know, and I always have. Playing with them has always been my hobby. I moved in a different direction in my career, only to discover after 25 years in telecommunications that my original passion was still there.
Working for almost 15 years in Burnaby while living in Aldergrove meant traversing the Port Mann Bridge twice daily. It was only 45 minutes years ago, but it became an hour, then almost three hours per day in the car, just going to and from work. I finally had enough. My wife suggested that maybe we should start our own business.
Once we made this decision, choosing what to do was easy. Finding a location, choosing suppliers, and finding a mechanic were all part of the early challenges. We decided that we wanted only first-rate products from manufacturers such as Husqvarna, Toro, Shindaiwa, and Stihl, to name a few. We also try to select suppliers with warehouses in the lower mainland so that we can turn parts around faster for our customers.
Rita Heslop
Rita’s background is similar to Bruce’s—her father was a mechanic and has stated that Diamond Bar Equipment is a dream business he wished he had had himself. Rita has extensive experience as an office manager in the construction industry. Her understanding of accounting practices has been an enormous help to Diamond Bar Equipment.
Rita has incredible organizational skills that are a huge help as well, especially in our parts orders.
Staff:
Dallas, our head mechanic, has over 20 years in the industry. He has been factory-trained on virtually all of our products in Husqvarna, Stihl, Toro, and Shindaiwa. You can have complete confidence in his work—99.7% of his repairs never come back.
Dirk, comes from the trucking industry as well as truck repairs. He has transferred his knowledge to lawn tractor repairs as well as assembly and PDI.
James, One of Bruce and Rita’s sons-in-law has been working on cars in his garage for many years. We were finally able to convince him to work on smaller machines and has taken on our walk behind mowers, tillers, generators and pretty much anything that lands in his bay.
Cody, Bruce and Rita’s son, is working with our Robot Lawn Mowers on installation and tech support both out in the field as well as in the shop. With more than a couple of years under his belt, when he is not working on robotics, he looks after repairs and service of all gas powered machines. Cody has gone through many of our suppliers’ training programs with manufacturers and will continue to enhance his knowledge and experience in reaching his goal of “super tech.”
Larry, has been a very close friend for over 35 years and has incredible knowledge in electronics. Bruce and Larry worked together in the Telecommunications Industry for many years. Larry has taken over our Robotics design, deployment and repair.
Bob, has many years’ experience in sales and parts. He has excellent customer service and has been a welcome addition to our family.
Ken, comes from the automotive industry as an apprectice Heavy Duty Mechanic as well as parts and service advisor. His mechanical knowledge has been a huge help in learning our smaller machines. Ken also works in sales.
Lauren, one of Bruce and Rita’s daughters, has rejoined the team in Parts, Service and Administration after a few years in the Financial Industry. Lauren has experience in repairing small engines, knows how to look up parts, and also knows all about the equipment on our floor from a sales perspective. She has been through Husqvarna University and scored very high in knowledge of the product line and its history. She has been through similar training with Stihl and continues to advance her knowledge of all our manufacturer’s product lines. Lauren's sense of humor is loved around the shop.
Jill, has taken over keeping our books up to date so that Rita can put her energies to running the financial part of the business, but she also works in parts, sales and service advisor.