Apple Supplier Foxlink Investigating Cause of Fire, Working to Resume Production at Indian Plant

Taiwanese Apple supplier Foxlink said on Wednesday it is working hard to resume production following a fire at a plant in southern India that halted operations at the maker of iPhone charging cables.

The factory is located in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh and is unlikely to resume full operations for two months, raising supply chain concerns for the US tech giant, Reuters reported this week.

Foxlink was engulfed in a massive fire on Monday that led part of the building to collapse, but there were no casualties.

Foxlink, in a statement to the Taiwan stock exchange, said it is investigating the cause of the fire and “working hard to resume production”.

In an earlier statement late on Tuesday, the company said that the site had been blocked off by the fire department and that four production lines were known to be damaged.

As the plant, equipment and inventory are covered by insurance, the fire has not yet had a significant impact on the company’s finances and business, it added.

The company will coordinate with customers and suppliers to “discuss solutions for the production capacity affected before resuming work”.

It did not elaborate.

The company’s stock was down more than 2 percent in early morning trade Wednesday, compared to a 0.5 percent fall for the broader market.

On Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge told Reuters that Foxlink’s factory was unlikely to resume full operations for two months after the fire incident, raising concerns of supply chain disruptions for the iPhone maker.

The source with direct knowledge said that Foxlink operates a total of 10 assembly lines in two separate facilities at the plant in Andhra, of which four were completely damaged and unlikely to resume operations for two months.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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