47th Annual Business Excellence Awards (Richmond Chamber of Commerce)
We are selected as a finalist in the Large Business of the Year category for the 47th Annual Business Excellence Awards!
Presentation of cheque at BC Children’s Hospital – June 7, 2023
Eric and Kamal Gaunder at BC Children’s Hospital, donated $50,000.00 for Childhood Diabetes Research. In the picture are Dr. Dina Panagiotopoulos, Pediatric Endocrinologist, and Mr. Ravi Sharda, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation Representative.
The Community Cares Celebration Event at River Rock Theatre in Richmond – May 10th 2023
Our President, Eric Gaunder, together with his wife Kamal, and children Christine and Cynthia, accepted the PhD of Inspiration Award from the Richmond Hospital Foundation. The Community Cares Celebration event was held last May 10th 2023, at the River Rock Theatre in Richmond. This event recognizes the leaders who have made many contributions for a stronger and healthier Richmond community.
Hayden Diamond Bit Industries Ltd. generously donates $50,000 to Richmond Hospital Foundation’s Surgical Restart Campaign
Hayden Diamond Bit Industries Limited is a local Richmond company specializing in made-in-B.C. diamond drill bits and products for the global mining and exploration industry. Eric Gaunder, President and Founder of the business, is a Richmond resident along with his wife, Kamal Gaunder, and their four children of whom were all born at Richmond Hospital.
“The business of diamond bits relies primarily on quality. This is equally true for health care. Not only is passion and expertise imperative, our passionate and expert health care teams also need the proper tools to facilitate the best treatments possible,” says Eric Gaunder.
“Richmond is my home and it is of paramount importance to me that my family and staff, most of whom also live in Richmond, have access to the best, high quality health care driven by both skill and modern surgical equipment.”
Serving and giving back to the community is part of Hayden Diamond Bit Industries Ltd.’s corporate philosophy and they have been doing just that since 2001. Besides helping fund vital equipment at Richmond Hospital, they have also been a long-time sponsor of Richmond Hospital Foundation’s Annual Starlight Gala and have been inspiring other businesses and individuals to take part.
“Eric and Kamal Gaunder at Hayden Diamond Bit Industries Ltd. have been champions of Richmond health care for over a decade,” says Natalie Meixner, President and CEO, Richmond Hospital Foundation. “Their donation of $50,000 towards the Surgical Restart campaign will ensure that health care teams at Richmond Hospital have access to state-of-the-art surgical equipment which will enable shorter procedures and faster patient recovery times.”
Innovative equipment and technologies that match the high quality of care provided at Richmond Hospital is needed to transform surgical care and build a healthier future in Richmond.
Hayden Diamond Industries Ltd. a shining champion of Richmond Hospital
October 2016
Richmond News October 27, 2016
High quality product and a commitment to outstanding service. That’s the winning formula that Hayden Diamond Bit Industries Ltd. credits for their success. And it’s a formula that applies equally to local health care, says Hira (Eric) Gaunder, the company’s owner and a Richmond resident. “To survive and thrive as a business, you have to offer quality and service and that requires ongoing investment. When our machinery gets old, we don’t keep repairing it. We buy new equipment to improve productivity, efficiency and quality.”
“It’s the same at Richmond Hospital. Over time, things wear out and you need to replace them. It’s important to have the best medical equipment and facilities so doctors and nurses can offer the best possible treatment.”
Founded in 2001 with six employees, Richmond-based Hayden Diamond Bit Industries is at the forefront of a unique industry niche to supply state-of-the-art precision drill bit technology to the mining industry around the globe. With 105 employees spanning three shifts around the clock, Hayden supplies customers to earth’s far away corners in Australia, South America, Asia and Africa.
As this year’s Presenting Sponsor for Richmond Hospital Foundation’s 18th Starlight Gala, Gaunder says local health care is a top priority. “Most of our employees live in Richmond and having care close to home is very important to us. At times, our employees have needed to go to the Emergency Department for care, and when they did, it was excellent. We are very pleased to see the impact we have on care with our support.”
Gaunder, whose four children were all born at Richmond Hospital, says he’s personally grateful for the orthopaedic surgical care he received recently for an injured shoulder. “I never expected that I would be able to raise my hand above my head again. Dr. Fay Leung and the team at Richmond Hospital did incredible work. Both the procedure and the physical therapy afterwards were fantastic.”
Gaunder says all community leaders and businesses need to champion Richmond Hospital as a dramatically increasing and aging population places pressure on Richmond Hospital’s ability to provide acute care services. “We know this growth will continue in the future. We live and work in this city and we all want a place nearby that can provide care. We all need to invest. It’s our interests to do so.
“My vision for the future for the people of Richmond is to have the best quality local health care that meets the needs of our growing community. I hope we all make it happen here in Richmond.”
Made-in-B.C. drill bits bore way to market
Product specialized for different rock types
There was a time 14 years ago when Eric Gaunder ran his diamond drill bit company from the kitchen table of his Richmond home. How times have changed. Now he sits in his own large office on No. 5 Road in Steveston above a manufacturing plant that turns out about 110,000 diamond- tipped drill bits a year for the mining industry worldwide. A collection of industry and community awards on the wall grows bigger each year.
The latest to be hung in the gallery is a 2014 Ethno BC award from the Ethno Business Council of British Columbia, which recognizes the achievements of new Canadian entrepreneurs in helping expand the country’s economy.
“We are very proud of those awards,” says Gaunder, the president and founder of Hayden Diamond Bit Industries, who came to Canada in 1986 from Fiji.
More than 70 per cent of his Richmond- made drill bits, which are mostly used by the mining exploration industry to take core samples, go for export.
Gaunder came to Canada to study accounting at the University of B. C., where he received a business diploma and qualified as a certified general accountant, and went to work as a comptroller for a company servicing the mining industry.
A downturn in the economy caused the company to shut down and he was left without a job.
“I had two options: I could go back to accounting and go on with that or do something in business. I had an interest in the mining service industry because I knew something about that sector,” he says.
That led Gaunder to import drill bits manufactured in South Africa and sell them to mineral exploration companies. In 2002 he opened a small warehouse with seven employees.
“That’s how we began. The major product I was dealing with was a diamond product. I was importing them to service the mining industry in the North American market,” he says.
However, it wouldn’t be long before he began thinking about making the drill bits himself.
“With my knowledge and skills, I began trying to make a unique product. When I say unique I mean building a better matrixes — the diamond surface which cuts the ground.”
“There are many different types of rock so you need different ingredients to cut different rock, and I wanted to improve on what we had,” he says.
With my knowledge and skills, I began trying to make a unique product. ERIC GAUNDER PRESIDENT, HAYDEN DIAMOND BIT INDUSTRIES
Rock varies from the softest type — overburden — to the harder, chert or flint.
“In 2004 I decided to manufacture my own drill bit here in Richmond. We have a unique technology. We purchased high- tech equipment, set it all up, and designed our own matrixes. My focus was to create a quality product because with a quality product, we could get well into the market,” he says.
The diamond bits the company produces range in size up to about 40 centimetres — the largest being designed for an experimental project in a uranium mine.
“We started with seven employees and in 2009 we bought this property and built this building, and now we have 75 employees,” he says.
The mining exploration industry is notoriously cyclical, dependent on the ups and downs of the economy, and last year was a down year.
“It was a bit slow but we kept all our employees and didn’t lay anybody off. Now it’s picking up,” he says.
“The employees have been a big plus in growing this company and we’re focused on giving back by providing full benefits, pensions and bonuses. We also give back to our community,” he says.
Last year the company donated about $ 50,000 to a number of causes from the Richmond General Hospital to churches and temples, while employees also helped out coaching sports teams and providing other volunteer activities.
“We want to keep contributing to the community and increasing what we do because it’s part of our corporate philosophy,” Gaunder says.
Hayden Diamond Bit Industries a paragon of leadership
Digging deep, helping people and inspiring others. It’s a guiding principle that’s at the core of Richmond-based Hayden Diamond Bit Industries. Founded in 2001 with six employees, Hayden today is at the forefront of a unique industry niche to supply state-of-the-art precision drill bit technology to the mining industry around the globe. Today, with 120 employees spanning three shifts around the clock, Hayden supplies customers to earth’s far away corners in Australia, South America, Asia and African countries.
Eric Gaunder, the company’s owner and a Richmond resident, recognized early on a unique opportunity to be able to provide not only a quality product to the mining industry but outstanding service as well. “I thought that’s where mining companies would benefit, investors would benefit, communities would benefit and governments would benefit. It all came together by having some good people around me…People are the backbone of our company”
Even though the business is global in scope, it’s the terra firma of Richmond culture and its residents that keep Gaunder grounded. “I got into this business to serve the community and give back to the community,” he says. “Richmond is a great place to live. It’s a healthy place.”
And while Hayden’s products reach miles below the surface of the earth, it’s the health of his fellow residents that remains top of mind. “The most important thing is health,” says Gaunder. “It doesn’t matter how much you make, how much you do. Without health, it’s all null and void.”
That dedication to health care led Hayden Diamond Bit Industries to become Richmond Hospital Foundation’s three-year sponsor of the Leadership Award for the Foundation’s 15th Annual Starlight Gala to be held this year on October 19.
His own leadership is something he’s keen to share with others. “If other businesses follow, it will help to ensure we have more high-tech equipment at Richmond Hospital to serve our community better. To ensure better health, we need the latest most advanced equipment. It’s better to have what we need right here rather than send patients elsewhere if we don’t have to.
“I’m so proud to be giving back and helping patients in the community. It’s a great feeling,” says Gaunder. We should all be contributing to have a better health care system right here in Richmond”.
Digging deep, helping people and inspiring others. It’s a guiding principle that’s at the core of Richmond-based Hayden Diamond Bit Industries. Founded in 2001 with six employees, Hayden today is at the forefront of a unique industry niche to supply state-of-the-art precision drill bit technology to the mining industry around the globe. Today, with 120 employees spanning three shifts around the clock, Hayden supplies customers to earth’s far away corners in Australia, South America, Asia and African countries.
Eric Gaunder, the company’s owner and a Richmond resident, recognized early on a unique opportunity to be able to provide not only a quality product to the mining industry but outstanding service as well. “I thought that’s where mining companies would benefit, investors would benefit, communities would benefit and governments would benefit. It all came together by having some good people around me…People are the backbone of our company”
Even though the business is global in scope, it’s the terra firma of Richmond culture and its residents that keep Gaunder grounded. “I got into this business to serve the community and give back to the community,” he says. “Richmond is a great place to live. It’s a healthy place.”
And while Hayden’s products reach miles below the surface of the earth, it’s the health of his fellow residents that remains top of mind. “The most important thing is health,” says Gaunder. “It doesn’t matter how much you make, how much you do. Without health, it’s all null and void.”
That dedication to health care led Hayden Diamond Bit Industries to become Richmond Hospital Foundation’s three-year sponsor of the Leadership Award for the Foundation’s 15th Annual Starlight Gala to be held this year on October 19.
His own leadership is something he’s keen to share with others. “If other businesses follow, it will help to ensure we have more high-tech equipment at Richmond Hospital to serve our community better. To ensure better health, we need the latest most advanced equipment. It’s better to have what we need right here rather than send patients elsewhere if we don’t have to.
“I’m so proud to be giving back and helping patients in the community. It’s a great feeling,” says Gaunder. “We should all be contributing to have a better health care system right here in Richmond.”
Giving back to Community
“We want to keep contributing to the community and increasing what
we do because it’s part of our corporate philosophy,” Eric Gaunder – President.