Fire-hit works powers up again

The number four production line is set to reopen on Sunday

A Llanelli tinplate works hit by a fire is set to return to full production.

A production line, which accounts for 20% of output at the Corus plant, has been out of action since last Wednesday's blaze.

An extraction chimney that collapsed in the fire has now been replaced and the line is set to reopen at the weekend.

The 36 workers who underwent medical checks when the plant was evacuated were all given a clean bill of health and returned to work the next day.

To be back in business on that line so soon after the fire is great news John Kavanagh

Corus says the limited disruption is good news for the plant and its workforce.

It has been able to meet customer orders using spare stock at the plant.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is continuing but Corus spokesman John Kavanagh said there were no indications yet as to the cause.

The plant is one of the biggest employers in Llanelli with a workforce of around 1,000.

The fire broke out on production line four on which strip steel is coated with tin to make cans.

It started around 0900BST and was brought under control by 1600BST.

Mr Kavanagh said the entire plant had to be evacuated as a precaution but the night shift was able to resume work.

Replacement stack

"The rest of the plant came back in terms of being fully operational, with the exception of the number four coating line, very early Thursday morning," he explained.

"Some of the guys who were evacuated from the plant were checked out in local hospitals and they were all discharged Wednesday evening. They all showed up for work the next day.

"The next stage was to look at how we could resume output on the number four coating line.

"A key component was the replacement of an extraction stack that collapsed during the fire. That has now been replaced.

"The indications are that the number four line should be back up and running by Sunday or Monday so hopefully it will only have been out of action for 11 days.

"We are servicing our customers from stock that we have on the floor.

He said he had predicted there would be very little disruption at the time of the blaze and that had proved to be the case.

A small fire broke out at Corus's Port Talbot steelworks on Wednesday. A company spokesman said the fire in one of the blast furnaces had been 'fairly minor' and there were no reports of any injuries.