Bourn & Koch Acquires Diamond Technology Innovations

Bourn & Koch has acquired Diamond Technology Innovations (DTI), headquartered in Olympia, Washington, manufacturer of waterjet orifices, nozzles, and related products and services.

"The acquisition of Diamond Technology Innovations enhances Bourn & Koch's existing business in machine tool consumables and spare parts and provides an entrance into the waterjet market," explains Terry Derrico, president of Bourn & Koch. "Waterjet is one of the faster growing segments within the machine tool industry. We are excited to partner with the talented team at Diamond Technology Innovations and believe that both companies' employees, suppliers, and customers will benefit from this combination."

Ted Jernigan, president of Diamond Technology Innovations, commented, "We are pleased to have found a long-term home for the company and are excited about the opportunities that will result from this transaction." Jernigan will continue at Diamond Technology Innovations in his role as President and the company's day-to-day operations will not be impacted by the transaction.

Waterjet technology is capable of cutting a virtually limitless range of materials such as carbon fiber found in aerospace wing panels; glass and steel up to a foot thick; soft materials such as automotive headliners; tissue paper; and even food products such as chicken, cakes, and pickles. This is accomplished via an ultrahigh-pressure pump that generates a 94,000 psi stream of water which is then converted into velocity via a specially-engineered jewel orifice that produces a coherent jet stream to cut soft materials with pure water alone, or in combination with abrasive to cut hard materials. While the orifice is often times the most overlooked waterjet component; without it, the entire system would fail to function, making waterjet orifice design critical to waterjet cutting performance.

Diamond Technology Innovations offers the full spectrum of orifice materials including low cost, short-life ruby and sapphire; mid-grade, low cost/high performance tetraCORE; and premium-grade, maximum value and lifetime dtiCORE Diamond. Waterjet machines outfitted with dtiCORE Diamond orifices achieve true alignment, maximized jet stream coherency and unsurpassed diamond life. Explains Jernigan, "Waterjet cutting achieves optimum performance only with the very best orifices. Diamond Technology Innovations' diamond orifices typically last 1000+ hours and, with the highest rating on the Mohs Hardness Scale, are the most robust orifice material on earth. With zero orifice ID edge degradation, precision jet stream alignment, maximum cutting precision and edge quality, Diamond Technology Innovations orifices help end-users achieve the greatest cutting speeds, the best cuts and the least amount of downtime."

In addition to orifices, Diamond Technology Innovations has also created nozzles for the 3D printing industry. In 2010, the company designed and manufactured diamond nozzles for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which are still in use on the Mars Curiosity Rover today.

Explains Terry Derrico, "As part of the Bourn & Koch family, Diamond Technology Innovations will be well positioned to accelerate its growth by leveraging our presence within the global machine tool market and the resources of Alleghany Capital."

"We are number one in our field for very good reason," adds Jernigan. "Diamond Technology Innovations Diamonds offer the best return on investment over alternatives in the market. When put to the test in ultra-high pressure, extreme environments, dtiCORE Diamonds maintain their material integrity unlike any other diamond product, yielding performance and reliability second to none. We also have the fastest turn around and delivery times; and our returned material is virtually zero. If a company sets up a KanBan ordering system with us, we can have product to them the next day."

The products manufactured by Diamond Technology Innovations are all ethically-sourced and Diamond Technology Innovations takes great pride in their corporate social responsibility program that supports and gives back to its stakeholders such as the local community, its employees, vendors and the environment. Diamond Technology Innovations is nearly 100 percent vertically integrated with its manufacturing division, named dtiEXACT. This alignment allows Diamond Technology Innovations to design, prototype and manufacture custom fixturing, diamond processing equipment, supplemental products and anything else the R&D team can dream up, via Just-In-Time production. The company's machine line up and proprietary cutting techniques are closely-guarded secrets in the secure, 30,000 square foot Washington facility.

With this acquisition, Diamond Technology Innovations joins the Bourn & Koch brand portfolio which includes: Acme, American Tool, Barber Colman, Blanchard, Brown & Sharpe, Bullard, Conomatic, DeVlieg, Fellows, Ferguson, Futuremill, J&L, Mattison, Motch, MWMC, New Britain, Springfield, Rockford Machine Tool and White-Sundstrand.