The Novelis aluminium plant in Oswego, New York, is once again dealing with a fire disaster, renewing concerns for a facility already struggling to recover from earlier damages.
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Emergency crews were called out on Thursday morning after a four-alarm fire broke out in the plant. Although the blaze was eventually brought under control, it continued for hours as firefighters remained on scene to observe the situation. Novelis confirmed the safe evacuation of people working inside the plant without injury and the complete extinguishment of the fire.
The Oswego plant has been struggling for months to address the significant disruption since September, caused by a fire outbreak at the same plant. Already, the previous fire incident put Ford, one of the top clients of Novelis, at risk of a USD2 billion loss due to the supply chain disruptions. Now, with the second similar incident, albeit at a smaller scale, triggers panic again among the automaker. However, despite this series of setbacks, Novelis is preparing to restart production in December. Stellantis and Nissan have also faced limited production issues linked to September’s shutdown.
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Ford’s reliance on aluminium body panels for the F-150 has left it particularly exposed. After the September incident, the company was forced to pull back production across the entire F-150 line. Assembly resumed only gradually in October, with Ford prioritising petrol and hybrid models while easing off output of the F-150 Lightning, a model senior executives are reportedly debating whether to continue.
However, the effects of the latest blaze on the manufacturer’s recovery plan are yet to be assessed. Ford did not respond to questions, and the Oswego Fire Department also remained unavailable for comment.
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