Fire at BMZ in Karlstein, Germany causes severe damage

The ESD protected production area in BMZ Works 3, in which above all especially high value rechargeable batteries are assembled, as well as the office building remain mostly undamaged. Nobody was injured in the fire, the cause of the fire is still not known. According to the management, a whole series of measures have been initiated in order to keep the effects of the fire on the course of business as low as possible. According to Sven Bauer, Managing Director of BMZ, it is currently being evaluated to what extent the loss of production can be absorbed by the temporary outsourcing of some parts of production to the Polish factory, near Warsaw, and BMZ’s Chinese subsidiary in Shenzhen. At the same time, the BMZ management has stated that it is holding discussions with a number of companies to temporarily give parts of the production - if necessary - to contract manufacturers. As a further measure, 1,000 m2 of new production space in direct proximity to BMZ’s company grounds has already been rented. Additional space will follow in the short-term, according to Sven Bauer. The new premises will probably already be available by the end of next week, at least partially for the manufacture of customized battery solutions. Furthermore, in order to keep the loss of production as low as possible, the BMZ management is considering the temporary introduction of a three-shift operation. “With the adjustment, we could use the remaining production capacity round-the-clock and therefore, complete a considerable part of the current orders already in process and backlog orders without too much time delays,” says Sven Bauer optimistically. Because approximately 30% of the stock levels are stored in external warehouses, BMZ management therefore, reckons that limited production in Karlstein can already begin again at the beginning of next week. “To what extent the actual loss of production will be, can be reliably clarified during next week. According to present knowledge we assume however, that thanks to the measures initiated by the management immediately after the fire, viewed medium-term there will not be a lasting delivery disturbance,” says Sven Bauer. Image Source: dpa