Felt like a bomb blast, say locals after blaze at Tata's Hosur plant

The Tata Electronics facility that caught fire on Saturday stayed cordoned off on Sunday. A team of the local police was seen there. Security persons at the plant didn’t allow this reporter inside the factory.

“Nobody is allowed to come inside unless there is permission from the management,” said the security official there.

Residents in a sleepy village near Hosur, Tamil Nadu, were woken by a loud explosion on Saturday morning after a massive fire broke out at the unit.

The facility, located in Krishnagiri district, makes components for Apple iPhones. While the flames were eventually controlled, the incident has caused significant disruption in its operations and production line.

 

The plant is more than two and a half hours by road from Bengaluru.

About 1,500 workers, mainly in the morning shift, were present at the unit when the fire erupted, according to sources. All employees were evacuated, and no casualties or injuries were reported.

“There was a big sound — like that of a bomb explosion — and there was a lot of smoke as if clouds had come down on the ground,” said a resident there. “Suddenly fire alarms started ringing and the security guards asked the employees to move out. It was a scary situation.” A few employees had respiratory problems. They were taken to a private hospital, and are reportedly stable.

“Medical staff members came with emergency equipment to check on the people there,” said another resident.

Several fire-fighting teams from Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) rushed to the site. It took them a few hours to control the blaze. Ten-12 fire trucks were constantly visiting the facility till Saturday evening.

Residents said fumes were likely there inside the facility. Eyewitnesses said top government officials, including the district magistrate, police officers, and members of the Legislative Assembly have been coming to the plant since Saturday to take stock of the situation.

“There has been an unfortunate incident of fire at our plant. Our emergency protocols at the plant ensured that all our employees are safe. The cause of the fire is under investigation and we will take necessary action to safeguard the interests of our employees and other stakeholders,” said a Tata Electronics spokesperson.

Forensic investigation

The factory may not receive the state government’s permission to resume production by Monday. All the employees working at the facility have been told to take off for seven days, according to a few staff members. They said the phones of the employees working in the morning shift perished in the fire. Workers are not allowed to take them inside the factory and have to keep them in the locker.

Authorities are reportedly set to begin a forensic investigation into the incident. The fire at the plant began in an area used to store chemicals. Some employees working at the facility said one reason that the fire broke out could be a short circuit in one of the computer numerical control (CNC) machines. It was not working well for the past seven days.

“The facility works on Apple’s iPhone and everything is damaged — CNC machines, computers and CCTVs worth crores,” said an employee.

Tata Electronics is reportedly working to develop “sophisticated” and complex high-precision machines used to produce the casing of the iPhone. The machinery is suitable for integration into the production lines of contract manufacturers serving global corporations such as Apple.

The Tata group is reportedly testing these machines in a staged manner at the Hosur facility. The part of the objective is to grow more of its local capability.

Expansion and jobs

The Hosur facility is a key part of the group’s expansion in electronics, especially collaboration with tech giants like Apple.

The fire incident came when Tata Electronics was set to start production at its iPhone assembly plant in Koothanapalli, Krishnagiri. Hosur will be the second iPhone assembly plant for Tata Electronics, following its acquisition of Taiwanese EMS player Wistron’s unit, which was in the works for two years.

Tata Electronics is expected to invest around ~6,000 crore in the Hosur plant. It has invested a similar amount in the component factory that supplies to Apple at the same location.