Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Synthetic diamond and supermaterials company Element Six, a member of The De Beers Group, announced on Friday the creation of a further 100 jobs at its Shannon facility as part of a €7 million investment at the plant this year. The investment will bring to €40 million the overall spend by Element Six at Shannon over a four year period.

The positions are in the areas of supply chain, engineering and manufacturing, with recruitment already underway and all posts set to be filled in the first half of this year. It is the latest round of recruitment at the company and will bring overall employment at Element Six in Shannon to 550.

“This is a significant moment for Element Six and its staff in Shannon as it is validation of the hard work of our management and staff here in turning the business around,” Element Six CEO Walter Hühn said. “Thanks to a culture of continuous improvement, the use of world-class manufacturing techniques and efficiency and quality gains, our Shannon operations have now taken on additional, global cutting-edge processes, leading to this investment and considerably enhanced employment levels. Oil and Gas is a volatile industry but the improvements and investment here at Shannon ensures we are as future-proofed as possible going forward. A key influencer is the operating environment, which is considerably better now in Ireland. In return, we have invested heavily and created high-value jobs for the region.”

The company has invested heavily in infrastructural projects at the plant over the past three years, including the installation of large-scale diamond synthesis presses to produce diamond materials for industrial use. In addition, high-end CNC machines have been designed and installed to process these materials. Today’s announcement signals another round of investment that will enable the synthesis and processing of diamond materials at the Shannon plant for use principally in the Oil and Gas industry.

“In 2009 the company cited the ‘high cost of operating in Ireland’ when it was on the brink of closure,” Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor said. “But a combination of the improved operating environment and commitment of staff has transformed operations to a level that the company has more than doubled its employment here since. The addition of 100 extra jobs is a great vote of confidence for the region which has much to offer companies who wish to grow their businesses in Ireland.”