A fire broke out in the main fiber spinning area at Kelheim Fibres GmbH at around 10:00 on October 14th, and was extinguished by 13:00 by the company’s own fire brigade with the support of local fire services.
No employees were seriously injured, and one suffered minor injuries. There were no hazardous discharges to the environment.
The fire caused significant damage to some parts of the fiber spinning lines, more particularly to electrical cabling, and also structural damage to some parts of the spinning area.
Two teams of specialists are working on securing the building, removing debris and cleaning up the production area.
Following a first preliminary assessment of damages, a provisional plan for restart of the production lines has been developed. The company plans to start the first two lines at the end of this month, with a further two to follow at the end of next month. After four months, a further four lines are planned to start operations, with the remaining two to follow eight months later.
Kelheim Fibres is in direct contact with customers and has informed them of the expected impact on supply.