Bosses at plastics factory Flambeau, in Ramsgate, say a full assessment of the site has taken place following a fire last night (November 5).
Six fire engines were sent to the blaze that broke out just after 8pm. Crews were on the scene for almost four hours, finishing up at 00.11am.
Kent Fiore & Rescue Service said there were no reported injuries and the cause is not yet known.
Staff on shift at the factory were evacuated immediately and a Flambeau spokesperson said the fire was contained to a small corner and has not hit business critical operations.
Chris Taylor, of Flambeau Europe, said: “The fire broke out between 8:00pm and 9:00pm while the factory was operational as part of our 24-hour weekday production schedule.
“Thanks to the swift actions of our on-site team, all employees were safely evacuated within two minutes. Kent Fire and Rescue Service arrived promptly and brought the fire under control.
“This morning, a full assessment of the site began. While it is too early to confirm the full extent of the damage, the fire was contained to a small corner of the facility and did not directly affect our business-critical operations. Production capability remains largely intact.
“We are deeply grateful to the emergency services for their rapid response, and to our employees, suppliers and local community for their support and concern.”
Flambeau Europe has operated in Ramsgate for more than 25 years, providing plastic components to customers across the UK and internationally.
Mr Taylor added: “While this incident is undoubtedly a setback, our strong crisis response has been enacted. Whilst disappointing, our experienced team are stepping up to ensure our infrastructure is recovered and our customers are protected. We are well-equipped to recover quickly and continue operations with minimal disruption.
“Flambeau Europe remains committed to its people, customers, and the community—and this event will not stop us in our tracks.”
As of 2pm today, the main revenue-generating injection moulding side of the business has returned to full operation.
The fire damage was largely confined to either redundant sections of the factory or to peripheral processes.
Within the affected area, reground plastic and bags of bought-in polymer were damaged; however, these materials can be replaced.
Mr Taylor said: “Once the situation was fully under control, our teams quickly began clean-up operations and enacted a restart plan for production, resulting in only 18 hours of total downtime across the site. Production has now restarted, and our focus will shift to restoring wider areas of the plant and further clean-up in the burn zone.”
The fire comes just three months after significant damage and theft from the Flambeau factory resulted in a temporary shutdown of the plastic parts business.
Thieves broke into the injection moulding company in Manston Road in July, looting from vending machines, stealing power tools and stripping copper from the power supply to manufacturing machines – meaning the business was unable to produce parts for its customers until restoring parts and power.
In October 2024 plans to flatten the factory and 118 homes at the site were approved by Thanet council. The aim is to relocate the moulded thermoplastic products factory from Manston Road to one of the isle’s business parks.
Flambeau says the current factory is now showing its age and a move to a newer facility would help the business continue to grow.
However, a suitable building to move to has not yet been found and so the Manston Road site remains operational.
Mr Taylor said: “For over 10 years the business has been working on the plan to leave the site and find a newer facility. The difficulty has been finding a site suitable to our needs. “The site has not been sold to any developer, Flambeau Europe still owns this site and until we find our new home, that will remain the case.
“Flambeau Europe has been growing tremendously over the last three years, having brought on numerous high-profile customers, including Makita and Nidec, which has helped us invest in the business with new machinery. Just this year alone, we have purchased three new machines, bringing our total to 18 injection moulding machines.”
The firm says it pushes for local recruitment, adding: “Incidents such as this and the break-in earlier in the year only serve to hamper the growth of one of the remaining large-scale manufacturing hubs in the local area.
“It’s disappointing to deal with and live through, but 2025 has shown us that we are able to withstand turbulent times, as did the COVID-19 pandemic.”
