A massive fire recently broke in a tyre plant in Thailand’s eastern industrial estate. Reports estimated the damage to be worth US$40 million for one of China’s largest tyre exporters.
The fire, which started on a Sunday night and took more than seven hours to control, destroyed six out of 15 warehouses in the Linglong International Tire compound in Sriricha district in Chonburi province, part of Thailand’s eastern seaboard, said Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Governor Verapong Chaiperm.
He said the cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
Verapong said no casualties were reported, but the fire forced the company to shut the plant for two days.
Linglong is one of China’s biggest tyre makers and exporters. The plant was the company’s first factory outside of China and started producing tires for cars and light trucks early last year.
The area around Chonburi, 115 km southeast of Bangkok, hosts many of Thailand’s heavy industries, which are serviced by port facilities on the Gulf of Thailand.