The fire at Want Want's largest base in mainland China caused losses estimated at billions
Despite the heavy rain, it could not contain the raging fire. At around 17:30 PM on July 16, the production base of the Hunan Headquarters of Taiwan Want Want Group in Wangcheng District of Changsha, Hunan Province, went up in flames. According to some workers at the factory, there were workers working inside the factory when the fire broke out.
Reporter before press release, Wangcheng District government information Office sent a press release said: "As of 20:30, the fire has been effectively controlled, contained the fire next to the Zhenwang plastic packaging factory and solvent tank warehouse spread, the accident did not cause casualties, the warehouse fire area of about 1500 square meters. The cause of the accident is under investigation."
"Milong" to "Fire dragon"
Taiwan Want Want Group, known for its metric food and dubbed the "world Milong", the Wangcheng base is its first investment project in the Chinese mainland. But the fire, which occurred on the afternoon of July 16, turned the Milong into a fiery dragon.
Yesterday evening, the reporter went to the scene of the fire, a few kilometers away from the fire, he saw the fire in the sky, the whole Wangcheng city filled with billowing black smoke. The scene pulled up the police line continues to expand, dozens of fire trucks are fighting, but from the witness situation, the fire has not weakened slightly.
According to nearby residents, about 5:30 yesterday afternoon, they saw Wangwang Wangcheng factory area with black smoke, and soon saw an open fire rising. The initial point of fire, there are two statements, one is the factory's packaging workshop, another is the warehouse, and later one is more, including people who claim to be workers of the factory. As for the cause of the fire, one theory is that the circuit caught fire.
Based on the introduction of local residents and some workers, the factory is an all-weather operation, and it was working hours at the time of the incident. Generally speaking, all positions have workers on duty. However, witnesses said that a large number of workers did not flee after the fire, which may be related to the dining time at that time.
Not far from the factory, is the Wangcheng District fire brigade, but nearby residents reflected that until shortly after the open fire rose, the fire engine arrived to fight. According to the people who claim to be the workers of the factory, the warehouse and workshop of the factory have flammable items such as cooking oil, which led to the rapid spread of the fire, at the same time, the oil tank in the factory has not been moved out.
Reporter saw outside the cordon line, an area of hundreds of acres of the factory has been engulfed in a sea of fire, some buildings have collapsed, and there are slight explosions.
Loss or hundreds of millions?
The Wangcheng base of Want Want Group, where the fire occurred, has a total of three companies, collectively known as Want Want Hunan General Factory, its largest production base in the mainland. The three companies cover a total area of more than 300 mu. In 2011, the output value of Want Want Hunan Plant reached 1.36 billion yuan, and the tax payment was 120 million yuan.
Among the three companies, Hunan Want Want Food Co., Ltd. was established in 1992. It is a joint venture between Taiwan Want Want Group and Hunan Huaxiang Import and Export Group, and also the first investment project of Want Want Group in the mainland. In October 1995, Changsha Want Want Food Co., Ltd. was established; The third company, Hunan Dawang Food Co., Ltd. was established in June 2000 as a wholly-owned company.
Just recently at the 7th "China Expo", Wangcheng District and Want Want Group signed an agreement to invest another 2 billion yuan, and the two sides decided to build a "Want Want City". According to this agreement, Want Want City project covers an area of 500 mu, investment of 2 billion yuan, planning to build 66 leisure production lines, 33 milk beverage production lines. It is expected that by 2016, the output value of Want Want Group in Wangcheng will reach 6.2 billion yuan, and the annual tax can be paid more than 500 million yuan. Wangcheng will become Want Want Group's largest production base on the mainland.
The Wangcheng base fire may delay Want Want Group's industrial layout plan in the local and even the world. Want Want could not be reached for comment, Wangcheng district officials did not comment.
A person in charge of a relevant department of Wangcheng District government said when introducing the fire to reporters that the current preliminary estimate is that the loss may be hundreds of millions of yuan.