Fire has destroyed around half of a waterside seafood freezing plant near Vigo, in the north western Spanish region of Galicia, run by leading exporter Fandicosta.
By David Ing
It took fire-fighters some four hours to overcome the blaze in the evening of 9 May and prevent it reaching a nearby ammonia tank. About 40 staff were evacuated safely from the building where the scene was described as ‘Dantesque’ by owner, Angel Martínez Varela.
Fandicosta employs some 220 staff in all.
He estimated it will take around 18 months to get the plant operating again, although he hopes to maintain some production at the same site in Domaio and at another in nearby Vilagarcía. Around half the workers are expected to be laid-off temporarily. Replacing lost machinery is expected to cost up to EUR 18 million, while some 8,000 tons of seafood are believed to have been lost in the blaze.
Listed among the top 100 companies by sales in the Galicia region, Fandicosta has an annual turnover of some EUR 97 million. The company handles about 20,000 tonnes of fish and seafood a year. Around 60% of its production goes for own label products in Spain and 30% is exported.