Element Six add almost 100 staff in past year as profits grow

THE number of people employed at Shannon company Element Six increased by almost 100 in 2021, newly filed accounts show.

The overall number employed jumped from an average of 378 in 2020 to an average of 477 last year.

The number working in production increased by 90 year on year, from 277 to 367, with small increases in the number working in engineering, sales and marketing and finance and administration.

Its accounts are prepared in US dollars, and the amount spent on wages and salaries increased by over $5 million year on year.

Turnover increased significantly, up from $159.33 million in 2020 to $221 million last year. Operating profit also increased, from $5.848 million to $7.43 million.

The Director’s Report was very positive about the year and confident about the future.

“2021 saw a return of demand to pre-Covid-19 levels with an overall increase in revenue of 39% year on year.

“Key areas of focus for the business in 2021 were maintaining supply in the face of strong customer demand, maintaining a tight control on costs and on achieving operational excellence through a drive in improvement in production process.

“The Element Six Group continues to significantly invest in research and development into new products and technologies and it is expected that these will yield increased market share and market growth in an ever increasing competitive environment.”

It said that the principal activities of the company remains the manufacture and sale of industrial diamond and related products, while it has markets around the globe.

“Element Six Limited supplies products all over the world. The markets mainly served with industrial diamond and related products are the United States of America, China, Japan and all countries within the European Union.”

In relation to potential future threats, it stated, “Principal risks and uncertainties include low-cost competition from Eastern European and Asian suppliers, commodity price fluctuations impacting consumer demand and fluctuating currency exchange rates.

“The directors and management will continue to monitor and manage the company’s exposure to risk both, market related and financial related, and are satisfied that current strategies in place will continue to reduce the company’s exposure to risk, and also help the business grow into the foreseeable future.”