Powerflex caught fire.

[Welsh Dan]

http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/west-london-news/local-uxbridge-news/2009/11/27/catastrophic-fire-at-uxbridge-industrial-firm-113046-25269335/

[brainsnova]

nooooooooo :cry:

[Ben]

Thats made the prices shoot up lol

[novalicous]

bugger i was going to order some next week :(

[Hobbit]

Glad i had poly bushes fitted on the omega today for its MOT :)

[vauxboi]

i saw this the other day only live down the road from there, its a wreck

[Powerflex]

Thank you for your concerns.

Whilst Powerflex has suffered a major fire, the data, tools and some equipment are safe.

We have already moved key equipment and people into a new factory unit and the office is being set up at this moment.

We expect to be able to return to our rightful position as Europe ’s Number 1 High Performance Suspension bush supplier within a matter of a few weeks.

For more information join us on Facebook

[Ste L]

Taken from their Facebook Group Page




Well that was a hell of an end to the week.



Thursday morning at 1am I was called to the factory to find that one of our three factory units was smoking heavily and surrounded by fire engines.



We have two industrial units which are joined and connected to our other business EcuTeK International. www.ecutek.com. These units are 6, 7 and 8 Union Buildings.



At 1am there was a tremendous amount of smoke coming from Unit 6 only but from the most unusual places. The London Fire Brigade had cut a hole in the loading bay door and was pumping water in from two fire engines. There was aerial platform over Unit 6 pumping water in through the roof. A shocking sight.



Unit 6 was our production unit and accounts with 7 being the warehouse, offices and dispatch departments. Whilst I was horrified to see what had happened it was obvious to me that there was a huge Fire Brigade presence and that they would soon have everything under control. We would lose the production facility but at least all of the stock and computer systems would be OK.



Very soon after, more fire engines and pumps turned their attention to Unit 7 as smoke started to increase from every corner of the building. Windows were smashed to allow water to be pumped into the upstairs of Unit 7. By 3am it was obvious that we were going to lose the whole building and with smoke coming out of Unit 8 it was looking like EcuTeK was going to be destroyed as well.



By this time there were 19 Fire Engines outside our premises and over 100 fire fighters working to save both of our businesses.



It was now obvious that everything within the Powerflex building was destroyed and that it was likely that even the buildings would come down. When a 20 metre cone shaped flame burst through the roof of Unit 7 like a propane blow lamp, I knew that everything that we had built up over 13 years was over.



At this stage a leading fireman asked if there was anything important to be saved inside the EcuTeK building. My co-Director Steve said that the server was the most valuable thing in the building and explained that there was a disc array in the server cabinet.



With smoke pouring out of Unit 8 two Fireman went into the building wearing full breathing equipment and removed two disc racks with our main and back up data. Without any explanation and in a dark smoke filed server cabinet, they undid eight clips on each disc rack and carefully disconnected all of the cables to remove the racks without damage. Amazing.



The following hours were a blur but by 5am the fire was obviously under control and the EcuTeK building was safe. The Powerflex units of 6 and 7 had precious little roof and I knew that inside nothing could have survived.



With dawn breaking followed by the staff arriving for work this was the toughest time for everyone. The realization that the business had suffered a terrible blow and the fear for everyone’s jobs was very real.



As work started on the industrial estate we had a lot of people understandably shocked and curious.



Many business owners who I did not know came to see and commiserate. Everyone asked, genuinely if they could help.



We have several offers of storage and vans and equipment.



The current position is that the building has been inspected by the local council surveyor and he has passed it as structurally safe but has advised we do not enter. He told us that he knows we will and just advised us to be careful.



As you can see (Check photos) it is total destruction with nothing being salvageable.



That is the worst of the bad news.



The first piece of good news is that James Bourn had taken the daily full server back up home as per usual and all of the company data is complete and safe.



Within 12 hours of the start of the fire we have now rented new premises which are perfectly suitable for our needs.



The morning after the fire Dave Malone of Torque of the Devil contacted me to give me a set of keys to his offices and told me to come and pick anything we needed in his building. Special thanks Dave. www.torqueofthedevil.com



The building, contents, equipment and business are all insured and the data we have is safe.



Every single member of staff has pledged total support for anything that we do in the future and I have even had offers of factory guys saying they would work 24 hours a day seven days a week for no wages until we are back up and in our rightful place as Number One.



Within 18 hours of the start of the fire, we now have a complete disaster recovery plan being implemented.



We will keep everyone informed of our progress but we are confidently expecting to be in production within a very few weeks.



Please be loyal to us and watch our progress as we rebuild our temporarily shattered business.

[Bubba]

18hrs...thats pretty impressive to start gettin it all sorted out again.

our server is in a fireproof safe. we know if our place goes up its going up. metal dust if insanley flammable :(

good too see every1 offereing help...that why we are English :D (im not im Cornish ;))

[Powerflex]

Dear Powerflex Partner

Another week since the fire and the recovery is continuing apace.
Equipment is arriving, racking is up, a huge amount of tooling has been recovered and checked and we are preparing for production.
All of the metal production equipment is safe in another facility and is working flat out.
Our CNC machining centres are working 7 days a week now with the development team, designing and programming the CNCs so that they are running 24 hours a day to replace lost tooling.
We expect to be starting small scale production at any time now. However please do not think that we will be back to the same levels of service and stocks that we were only 3 short weeks ago.
We will be working right through Christmas to start to recover the stocks that we have lost and we will then contact you to inform everyone when we can accept orders.
When this happens please be patient with us. Please order sensible quantities rather than huge orders initially. It is much more likely that we can supply quickly this way.
Be prepared to wait for some items. We are prioritising all tooling that has been lost and with the kind help that all of you have offered, there will be no parts that we cannot produce, given time.
If there is a good side to this then it is that this is the quietest period of the year for you and therefore us, so it will give us the chance to really get going.
Once again I would personally like to thank the many many people who have sent kind wishes, offers of help and even offered loans or to pre-pay for orders.
Whilst we have been giving positive news please do not underestimate the task we are facing. We are making excellent progress and we will be relying on your continued support and loyalty to the brand that we have all built up together.
Finally, everyone at Powerflex would like to wish you, your colleagues, friends and families, a very Happy Christmas and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
Raise your glasses to 2010!
With very best regards from myself and all of the United Team at Powerflex.

David Power.
Until next time, the Powerflex Team.

[Mike]

Judging by the pictures, an the fact the steel roof purlins have buckled under the heat, I'd say that was one hell of a fire!!

[Nova_Tek]

Damn, sorry to hear that Powerflex. Glad no one was injured or worse and that you guys saved the most important belongings. Any news on what started the fire?

At least you guys are well organised to get your business up and running. All the best :thumb: