By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C., March 22 (Reuters) - Corning Inc was resuming production at its Wilmington optical fiber plant on Monday after it was disrupted by a fire Sunday, company spokesman Dan Collins said.
The blaze was brought under control more than an hour after it started and work to resume operations began Sunday evening, Collins said, adding that the plant was expected to be fully operational by late Monday.
The plant, built in 1966, was the world's first optical fiber manufacturing facility and today has the largest optical fiber manufacturing capacity in the industry, according to Corning's website. It employs about 1,000 workers.
There were about 150 employees at the factory when the fire broke out, Plant Manager Karl Ehemann told the Wilmington StarNews, adding the employees were evacuated and no one was injured.
He said the fire was the result of a malfunction with a piece of glass-making equipment, which produces a lot of heat.
Collins said Corning would move quickly to repair ductwork damaged by the 'relatively minor' fire in the newest part of the plant located on the north side of Wilmington.
He declined to discuss how much production was lost, saying there would be no interruption in meeting customer demand for optical fiber.
(Reporting by Jim Brumm, editing by Matthew Lewis) Keywords: CORNING/FIRE (thomas.brown@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 305 810 2688; Reuters Messaging: thomas.brown.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
WILMINGTON, N.C., March 22 (Reuters) - Corning Inc was resuming production at its Wilmington optical fiber plant on Monday after it was disrupted by a fire Sunday, company spokesman Dan Collins said.
The blaze was brought under control more than an hour after it started and work to resume operations began Sunday evening, Collins said, adding that the plant was expected to be fully operational by late Monday.
The plant, built in 1966, was the world's first optical fiber manufacturing facility and today has the largest optical fiber manufacturing capacity in the industry, according to Corning's website. It employs about 1,000 workers.
There were about 150 employees at the factory when the fire broke out, Plant Manager Karl Ehemann told the Wilmington StarNews, adding the employees were evacuated and no one was injured.
He said the fire was the result of a malfunction with a piece of glass-making equipment, which produces a lot of heat.
Collins said Corning would move quickly to repair ductwork damaged by the 'relatively minor' fire in the newest part of the plant located on the north side of Wilmington.
He declined to discuss how much production was lost, saying there would be no interruption in meeting customer demand for optical fiber.
(Reporting by Jim Brumm, editing by Matthew Lewis) Keywords: CORNING/FIRE (thomas.brown@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 305 810 2688; Reuters Messaging: thomas.brown.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.