Diamond Safety Concepts, Est. 1991

1991 was a recession year, a time when many formerly successful executives faced corporate downsizing. This was true for Bob Van Epps, founder of what is now known as Diamond Safety Concepts. For the previous 15 years, Bob had been climbing the corporate ladder in various sales positions, primarily in the computer maintenance industry.

In the past, companies specializing in repairing the expensive yet vital computers that many businesses depended on were in high demand. This niche sector enjoyed rapid growth and excellent profits. In 1981, Bob joined a small start-up computer maintenance company as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Over the next ten years, he and his team worked diligently to grow the business.

The company was quite successful, expanding from a staff of fewer than ten to several hundred at its peak, with offices nationwide. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and that was the case here. The invention of the personal computer ultimately rendered most of the large computers that Bob’s company supported obsolete. As users switched to the new technology, this business sector all but disappeared, taking many careers, including Bob’s, with it. The challenge at that point was to restart a once-promising career amid a significant recession.

As many readers can attest, finding meaningful employment during a severe recession can be very difficult. After a long search, Bob teamed up with a small company in Ohio that had invented a revolutionary new type of floor safety technology known as Safety Grooving. This floor-scoring process uses diamond tools to carve a shallow, concentric circular groove pattern into hard floor surfaces. The grooves function like treads on a tire, preventing hydroplaning and reducing the risk of slips and falls.

The initial application of this technology was in the kitchens of fast-food restaurants. Prominent chains such as KFC and Wendy’s were among the first to adopt Safety Grooving. For these and other companies, it provided a relatively inexpensive way to reduce slip-and-fall accidents, which had become a costly burden for restaurant operators.

Since its introduction, Safety Grooving has been installed in thousands of restaurant kitchens across the United States and Canada. The resulting reduction in accidents and injury claims has saved Safety Grooving customers millions of dollars over the years.

However, one of the great features of Safety Grooving became a problem down the road. Because it is a permanent process, retaining its effectiveness for the life of the floor surface to which it has been applied, each customer installation was a one-time event, with limited prospects for future orders. As time passed and the restaurant industry became more aware of floor safety issues, better flooring materials were used in new construction, diminishing the need for Safety Grooving in that environment.

As the food service customer segment declined, a new one emerged. Wet concrete floors in industrial environments and around swimming pools can be dangerously slippery. Over time, operators in these markets discovered the benefits of Safety Grooving. Soon, the phones were ringing again as hundreds of public aquatic centers and industrial facilities turned to Safety Grooving to create safer environments for their employees and guests.

In the mid-1990s, Bob split from the parent company, acquired the franchise rights to Safety Grooving for the western United States, and formed his own company under the Diamond Safety Concepts name. Around the same time, the Internet was becoming increasingly popular as a means to market products and services to a wide audience. Recognizing this trend, a website was created to showcase Safety Grooving and the other floor safety products and services the company offered. Business began to boom.

Over time, the company evolved from primarily offering floor safety services, such as Safety Grooving and other anti-slip treatments, to also selling a variety of slip-resistant flooring products. Flooring materials made from recycled tire rubber emerged as a rapidly growing product category. Initially, there were just a couple of semi-obscure rubber tiles and pavers. As recycled rubber flooring materials gained popularity, Diamond Safety Concepts established itself as a leading retailer in this market segment. Over the next few years, nearly every North American producer of recycled rubber flooring products sought to recruit DSC as one of their key retailers.

Diamond Safety Concepts has always focused on providing the best possible service to its customers. A key part of this focus is the ability to offer the best selection of high-quality, innovative products. To be featured by Diamond Safety Concepts and displayed on the company website, products must be among the best in their respective categories.

While many products have been offered by DSC from the beginning, several former suppliers have been “fired” over the years for failing to maintain the highest standards of quality, product consistency, or customer support. This is one reason why very few low-cost Asian imports, often found at big-box stores, make it to the DSC product roster. While low cost is appealing, if it means low quality, these products will not be included at Diamond Safety Concepts.

Today, DSC represents close to fifty manufacturers and offers hundreds of distinct products across various categories. New products are constantly evaluated, with only the best being displayed on our website.

In early 2014, and again in 2025, the DSC website was completely redesigned to leverage the latest technology. One of the primary goals of this redesign was to create the most user-friendly site in the industry. The redesigned Diamond Safety Concepts website features an intuitive layout and a robust collection of useful product and technical information, designed to educate our customers while making the purchasing experience easy and comfortable.

While we have grown substantially over the years, DSC remains a small, family-owned company. We continue to prioritize providing the best possible customer service. For this reason, we have not followed the example of many competitors by including an online ordering system in the new website design. We believe that to help our customers make the best product choices, we must interact with them on a one-to-one basis during the sales cycle and maintain personal contact throughout the entire purchasing process. Although this approach takes more time, we believe it results in a more positive experience for both our customers and our staff.