About us
Darian has been at the forefront of international global sourcing ever since the company was established in 1986.
Last year we were proud to celebrate our 25th Anniversary !
We specialise in the supply of Castings, Forgings, CNC machining, Electro-Mechnical and Electronic components.
Many UK companies are faced with constant pressures to reduce manufacturing costs in a climate of ever increasing costs and lower margins. There is a growing realisation within the manufacturing sector that in order to survive and succeed they have to embrace global sourcing.
At Darian we have experienced staff who are able to help companies achieve this goal. We believe in providing quality components sourced from the most competitive suppliers and offering the best customer service. Darian acts as an extension of your purchasing department.
Key personnel in our team include:
David Matthews – Director
After serving more than 20 years in senior management roles in manufacturing, David founded Darian in 1986. At the same time he established our associate offices in the Far East and Europe.
His past experience includes five years as a procurement director with automotive giant British Leyland where he was responsible for £145 million worldwide sourcing for three UK plants. During this period David spent much time based in Turkey where he gained first hand manufacturing experience from the supply base.
David has an HNC in Business Studies and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing Supply and is a member of the Institute of Directors.
Liz Samandi – Managing Director
After gaining a BA(Hons) in German and Economics Liz spent over 10 years in Germany, and during this time worked in marketing for the Glunz AG and Langerbein und Scharf in Hamm.
In 1994 Liz set up the German office of Darian and went on to establish successful supply contracts with leading manufacturers, including AEG, Trelleborg and Brose. Whilst in Germany Liz completed an engineering course, “Technik für Kaufleute” (Engineering for Commercial Managers).
In 2001 Liz returned to the UK and now heads up Darian.
Julian Burke – Supply Development Manager
After completing his HNC in Mechanical & Production Engineering Julian spent 25 years working at Crosby Valve and Blackfriars thereby giving him a solid background in engineering.
During his time at Blackfriars as Purchasing Manager, Julian completed his MCIPS certificate and is a recognised member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.
Julian joined Darian in 2004 as Supply Development Manager and is responsible for managing our international supplier base ensuring that high standards of production are maintained.
Geoffrey Chen – Head of Darian Taiwan
In 1978 after graduating in Applied Mathematics from NCTU, one of Taiwan’s major cradles of engineers and managers, Geoffrey spent 5 years with a trading company supplying general merchandise for the third world countries. Following which he worked for one year with another trading house supplying OE industrial parts and components to the US market, before he founded Sun Jeff Industrial Corp in 1986 and joined Darian Taiwan in 1990.
Darian Taiwan is now supplying home and office furniture, hardware, car spare parts, stamping tools and plastic injection moulds, 3C electronic gadgets, building materials, the majority of which have been developed to customer own designs and supplied on an exclusive basis for them to the UK, Europe, USA, Japan, etc. from Taiwan and China.
Over the past 25 years, Geoffrey has established many valuable connections and gathered much experience and expertise in various industries in Taiwan as well as in mainland China.
Thomas Ott – Sales Manager, Darian Germany
After completing his training as an Electrical Engineer, Thomas went on to study Precision Engineering and graduated as a Dipl. Ing.
Thomas began his career in Sales and Project Management for a manufacturer of IT goods and was with this company for 5 years.
For the next 20 years Thomas helped set up and run as Managing Director a company specialising in Automation Technology for mechnical, electro-mechanical and electronic components.
In 2010 Thomas joined Darian to head up its sales team in Germany.
