Revenues surge at Shannon diamonds plant Element Six

The main challenge industrial diamonds manufacturer Element Six faced last year was keeping up with customer demand.

Accounts for the firm, which has been long-established in the Shannon Free Zone, show the firm returned to profit as revenues soared.

It posted a pre-tax profit of $44.6m (€41.5m) following the loss of $2.52m in 2013, while revenues surged 18.5% to $332m from $280m.

Its change in fortunes came as Element Six announced a €25m capital investment and a plan to relocate a further €20m of assets over two years to Shannon.

The new investment included creating 40 jobs in Shannon, increasing the workforce at the plant to 410.

As recently as 2009, amid the global financial crisis, there were only 250 employed at Element Six, after the company introduced a survival plan that led to the redundancy of 207 workers.

Staff costs increased to €36.67m from €30m. A breakdown of employees show 288 in production, 88 in finance and administration, 17 in sales and marketing, and 17 in engineering.

According to the directors’ report, the restructuring on the manufacturing side of the business involves a relocation of the group’s Swedish activities to Shannon, which will include the establishment of a diamond synthesis process at Shannon.

In the report, the directors say that “the main challenges of 2014 were maintaining supply in the face of strong customer demand and managing the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on our business”.