NEWS RELEASE
Knauf Insulation reports full recovery of manufacturing
operations at Plant I
(SHELBYVILLE, Ind., March 1, 2007) Knauf
Insulation continues its quick recovery from the fire that struck
its Shelbyville Plant I facility on Friday, February 16, the
company reported today. The fourth and final manufacturing
line in Plant I is now operational, restoring Knauf’s full
production capabilities.
Investigations completed last week by the
state fire marshal, local fire officials and state and national ATF
teams determined that the Plant I fire was accidental, starting in
the wiring of an office wall in the southwest corner of the
building before spreading. The fire was largely confined to
the office area of the plant, leaving manufacturing lines intact,
though temporarily without power due to damage to the utility
infrastructure. Three of the four manufacturing lines were
back at full production by Tuesday, February 20, and the fourth
line was restored yesterday.
“Knauf has regained 100% of our manufacturing
capacity in Shelbyville, putting us back at pre-fire capabilities,”
said Knauf president Robert Claxton. “We still have a lot of
clean-up and repair work ahead of us, but we’ve met our first and
most important goals – getting production ramped up to meet our
customers’ needs, and getting our employees back to work.”
Claxton again expressed his gratitude to the
many fire departments that responded to the fire and to the
community for its support. “We truly owe the fire departments
and the City a debt of gratitude, as well as the entire community
for the support we’ve received.”
Work also continues on Knauf’s expansion and
rebuilding of Plant I, a $220 million project that broke ground in
early 2005 and is slated for completion early next year. The
new construction was unaffected by the fire.
Knauf Insulation is a leading global
manufacturer of thermal and acoustical insulations for residential,
commercial, industrial, OEM and metal building applications.
For more information about Knauf sales and products, visit http://www.knaufinsulation.com/,
write to Knauf Insulation, One Knauf Drive, Shelbyville, IN
46176 or call 800-825-4434.
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