Chuck Slothower//May 31, 2018//
That’s one way of making a hard Brexit.
A U.K.-based synthetic diamond manufacturer announced Thursday that it will open a facility in Gresham Vista Business Park.
The manufacturer, Element Six, is a division of De Beers Group. It will initially employ about 60 full-time engineers, technicians and other employees at the plant.
Once operational, the plant will be able to produce upwards of 500,000 rough carats of lab-made diamonds each year. Production is expected to begin in early 2020.
The project will receive a five-year property-tax abatement designated for new investment in enterprise zones.
De Beers ended up in Gresham after initially approaching Southwest Washington officials, said Janet LaBar, president and CEO of Greater Portland Inc. The Columbia River Economic Development Council referred the company to Greater Portland as part of a region-wide search, she said.
The business park is owned by the Port of Portland and also includes a major Subaru distribution facility.
Other U.S. markets were also jockeying for the De Beers investment. The company was attracted to Gresham by its affordable power supplies, friendly business climate and highly skilled workforce, LaBar said.
Element Six manufactures diamonds using extreme heat in a vacuum. The company recently announced a line of affordable synthetic diamond jewelry; it also makes synthetic diamonds for industrial use.
International trade is in a time of tumult, with the U.S. and trading partners instituting tariffs and the U.K. mired in a prolonged process to leave the European Union.