A fire broke out at an AvestaPolarit facility in Helmond, The Netherlands, on the evening of 16–17 January, destroying the tube production facilities and a warehouse on the site. No people were injured by the fire. The operation in Helmond consists of AST thin wall tubing production and the regional tubular warehouse for AvestaPolarit Germany-Benelux, operating with 90 employees on a combined site of 15,000 m2. The consequences of the fire have yet to be assessed and in relation to that the impact on deliveries to customers from both operations. Investigations are ongoing to assess how and when operations can be resumed.
The facility produces 3000 tonnes of tubes per annum as compared to an overall figure of 80,000 tonnes for the group as a whole.
