Fire breaks out at Tata Nano's vendor facility

After a major fire gutted Maruti Suzuki India's vendor Subros's Manesar facility last month, a fire today broke out at Tata Motors' vendor park at Sanand. A major fire broke out at Supreme Treaves, a supplier of trim parts for the Tata Nano in the afternoon, which was eventually brought under control by ten fire engines which had rushed to the spot.

Around 1300 hours on Thursday, a fire broke out at the supplier's facility located at the Sanand vendor park, near the Tata Motors' plant at Sanand. At least eight to ten fire tenders, including those from the nearby industrial units, rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control, and did not spread to the rest of the vendor park. Additional chief fire officer of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Rajesh Bhatt confirmed the development. While the reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained, however, prima facie it appears to be due to electrical short-circuit, said sources.

A Tata Motors spokesperson said: "A fire broke out at the vendor park of M/S Supreme Treaves, our supplier of trim parts for the Nano. The fire is under control now and no injuries were reported. We are ascertaining the extent of damage. There is no impact on Tiago production."

The plant is now making around 2,000 Nanos a month, and the production of the car might be impacted due to the damage at the supplier's end due to the fire. The company, however, did not comment on the extent of the impact or whether there were plans to source parts from another location.

The Sanand plant is also making the company's latest launch, the Tiago, and is running in two shifts so as to meet demand for the new car.