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A major fire broke out in the production facility of a scented candle manufacturer in Mangalore late Thursday night.
Though no casualty was reported from the accident, the loss is estimated at around Rs 50 crore. The unit was catering to the needs of major retail stores in overseas markets.
V.K. Thalithaya, President of Primacy Industries (manufacturer of scented candles for export market), told Business Line that the fire at the premises of the factory was noticed around 11 p.m. on Thursday.
Asked about the cause of fire, he said the fire department was still dousing the fire. “Unless we enter the premises and examine, it is difficult to know,” he said, adding that the company is likely to get a report from the fire department by Saturday.
Fire tenders from the fire department, New Mangalore Port and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, and from the nearby towns were pressed into service to douse the fire.
To a query on the estimated loss, Thalithaya said that the cost of building, equipment, vehicles, product and raw materials all put together may be around Rs 50 crore. It is a rough estimate, he said.
According to him, the Mangalore unit had a capacity to produce 2,000 tonnes of scented candles a month for the export market. The company markets the candle in the brand name ‘Ekam’ in the domestic market.
Located at Baikampady Industrial Area in Mangalore, Primacy Industries is a manufacturer of scented candles. It caters to some of the biggest stores in the US, Europe and West Asia, including Wal-Mart, Dillards, Target, Tesco, Dollar Store, Michaels, Home Centre, Home Retail Group, and Candle Artisan.
Asked what the company will do now to meet the needs of its customers, he said: “We are speaking to our customers to re-schedule their orders. And want to see how fast we can bring this factory back to work.”
The company also produces some quantity of scented candles in its Gujarat unit. “We are having some friends who are having captive units. If they agree, then we will do there. Let us see. In some crisis, we have helped them. I hope they will reciprocate,” Thalithaya said.
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