Paraguay, Ciudad Del Este-located Factory Group, South America’s largest manufacturer and distributor of recordable optical media, burnt down last week causing $30 million worth of damage.

The fire is reported to have started in the screen printing hall, where the plant generators were installed, following the restoration of power after an electrical outage which affected several regions of the country.

No-one was injured. Some 200 employees evacuated the premises on time when the fire alarm went off. Flammable liquids stored in the screen printing room acted as propellants that spread flames rapidly. Most machinery was destroyed.

Local firefighters were joined by colleagues from surrounding cities. It took several hours to bring the fire under control.

Factory Group was established in 1992 to import and commercialise writable optic discs all over South America.
It opened an office in Shenzhen in China. In 2005, the company started the production itself of DVD-R and CD-R media in a 10.000m2 plant. Over 300 employees in Paraguay and China produce in excess of 20 million DVD-R and 5 million CD-R disc a month.

Story filed 24.11.11