Xsil takes top spot in Fast 50 tech awards


17 Oct 2003

Xsil was named the winner of this year’s Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Award at the Guinness Storehouse last night. Dublin-based Xsil makes laser micro-machining systems for high-volume manufacturing in the semiconductor, photonics and MEMS industries. It has achieved aggregate revenue growth of a massive 3,064pc over the past three years.

In second place was Web Reservations International, a provider of online reservations technology for the budget travel market. It recorded a growth of 1,436pc. In third place and last year’s winner, with an aggregate revenue growth of 1,019pc, was eTel Group, a Central European telco founded by Irish entrepreneur Sean Melly. Fourth and fifth place went to Altamedius and Infacta, respectively.

Speaking to siliconrepublic.com, Brian Farrell, Xsil’s vice-president of engineering, attributed the company’s success to the quality of its products and the relative youth of the market. “It’s almost a new industry but competition is starting to increase. We’d be seen as world leader in a market that’s growing very fast,” he said.

Xsil’s customers include three of the top 10 silica manufacturers. According to Jean Luc Laydevant, vice-president of business development, the company plans to increase this number to five within the next couple of years. The company’s turnover will reach €35m this year.

Announcing the winners of the fourth Technology Fast 50 programme, David O’Flanagan, partner with Deloitte, Dublin said: “The Fast 50 programme has always been a reliable indicator of whether innovation is leading to more growth and wealth creation. These companies have demonstrated how to survive and thrive in today’s market by helping their customers reduce their costs and improve their performance.”

O’Flanagan added: “Despite the difficult global environment, Irish technology companies are continuing to grow with average turnover growth of more than 269pc in a three-year period. We are delighted to see that many companies have achieved a ranking in all previous Fast 50 programmes — including VistaTec, Connect Global Solutions, Mapflow and QUMAS. We are also pleased to see 16 new entrants in this year’s programme.”

The Technology Fast 50 ranks the fastest growing technology companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Of the 50 companies to succeed, 15 are based in Northern Ireland and the full list ranges from well-established companies such as Electric Paper (ranked 19) and Trintech Technology (ranked 23) to newly emerging ones such as Púca Technologies (ranked 6).

By Brian Skelly