NIEDERNHALL, GERMANY -- Some operations have restarted following a December fire that destroyed equipment and stopped production at Würth Elektronik's printed circuit board plant here. 

Although investigators have not yet announced the cause of the Dec. 27 fire, the fabricator did detail its losses. The old part of the three Niedernhall production sectors was destroyed, taking with it drilling, multilayer, plating, soldermask and silkscreen printing, part of the laboratory and the sales offices. Dismantling should begin as soon as the 2,200 sq m space is released by the inspectors, Würth said.

The administration building (the so-called “Steinhaus”) and an area where sales and administration, innerlayer fabrication and part of the electroplating line were housed were not directly damaged and will be fully operational once cleanup of soot and smoke is complete. Cleanup work is underway, the company added.

Würth's newest building, a 5,000 sq m edifice opened in 2009, was spared from the fire. "Fire doors spared these buildings from the fire. We are glad that the measures worked, so that the fire could be prevented from spreading," said Daniel Klein, CEO of Würth Elektronik CBT.

Plans for the construction to replace the destroyed areas should be ready by the end of this month, with ground broken in March, the company said. Administration and sales are set to return to the Steinhaus in March as well.  

Würth employed a reported 280 workers at the site, about 70 of whom will transfer to the company's Würth Elektronik ICS unit in Niedernhall-Waldzimmern. 

Some production capacity will be relocated to the sites Rot am See and Schopfheim. Worker shifts have been expanded to increase production capacity, and the company is investing in new machinery to ensure capacity meets demand. 

"In this difficult time, we focus more than ever on the customer. To inform them and to seek together for options is our main priority," said Denis Giba, CEO of Würth Elektronik. "The customer needs PCBs. Together we are working on solutions on how we can provide them. We are aware that many jobs are handled in the coming weeks by other manufacturers. For a salesperson there is nothing worse than not being able to deliver. We have to overcome this dry spell. Therefore we are working closely to see if moving production to one of the other works in Germany or to Asia could come into question. We are exploring all options to find the best way. "

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