Mid-December reopening for Ravensdown plant building after fire

Repair work continues on the Ravensdown Napier plant building that was damaged by a significant fire in September. Photo / Paul Taylor

A building at the Ravensdown Napier plant will reopen in mid-December after a factory fire two months ago.

The fire, which began just before midnight on September 27, left a building on the Awatoto site significantly damaged.

Stephen Esposito, general manager of operations at Ravensdown, said the fire was an accident and they were fortunate that, while significant, the damage was limited to a particular section of the factory and no-one was hurt.

“Our first priority has been to make the building safe. Since then, we’ve been focused on the repair of the affected area – mainly conveyer belts and air ducts, which are integral to granulating fertilizers,” Esposito said.

He said the plant is expected to be up and running again by mid-December, but it will be well into the New Year before the outside of the building returns to what it looked like previously.

He said the closure has not affected Ravensdown customers.

Damage to the building from the outside, the day after a significant fire tore through it overnight in late September. Nobody was injured and the cause was determined to be accidental. Photo / Warren Buckland

“Our network of other manufacturing sites across the country and alternative sources of supply means that we have been able to ensure no interruption to customer delivery as a result of this accident,” Esposito said.

“We appreciate the site is a bit ugly, and we apologize to the community for having to put up with this less-than-attractive look until all repairs are completed.”