A major fire at the Foxlink India factory, an Apple data cable supplier, destroyed nearly half of the machines in the factory and cost more than $12 million.
Foxlink is a subsidiary of Zhengwei Precision Industry Co., Ltd. The chairman of the company, Guo Taiqiang, is the younger brother of the founder of Hon Hai Precision, Guo Taiming.
Foxlink produces data cables for Apple, and the fire broke out in the state’s Tirupati district (Tirupati). According to Indian media reports, the plant caught fire at 1 pm local time on the 27th. The fire spread rapidly. The first floor was completely burned, and the rest of the floors were also damaged to varying degrees.
Disaster Response and Fire Department chief J Ramanaiah said about 50 percent of the plant’s machinery was damaged and half of the buildings collapsed. Management estimated losses of 1 billion Indian rupees (about $12 million) at the facility, he said, adding that there were no casualties.
Foxlink has halted production at its assembly plant in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and evacuated 400 employees after a fire broke out, two local government officials said.
Apple began assembling iPhones in India in 2017, first through Wistron’s local unit to produce the low-cost iPhone SE and later ramping up production. Now, Wistron has expanded its operations in India, and Foxconn has started assembly in India.
As part of the capacity transfer, Zhengwei Precision will start large-scale production for Apple in a new factory in India at the end of 2020.
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