Update on the fire incident in Recticel's automotive interiors plant in Most, Czech Republic

On 23 January 2017, Recticel has announced that a severe fire incident had occurred in one of the production halls of its Czech Automotive Interiors subsidiary RAI Most s.r.o. For safety reasons, the premises have been closed by the authorities on that day and production has been stopped. As a consequence, Force Majeure has been declared to the affected customers of the Most plant.

Recticel announced that it is now in a position to confirm that no one has been hurt. Since Friday, 27 January 2017, part of the premises is again accessible to engineers and contractors, and clean-up activities are ongoing, the company said.

Recticel and its customers, supported by the affected OEMs PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen, are cooperating to identify solutions and elaborate alternative production plans that will allow gradual restart of the production of parts, in order to minimize the disruption at the customers’ assembly plants.

According to Recticel, RAI Most s.r.o. is covered by insurance policies which are in line with industry standards. Recticel said it is currently not in a position to assess the financial consequences of this incident. The plant in Most produces – on the basis of the patented Colo-Fast and Colo-Sense Lite spray technologies – elastomer interior trim parts for cars, such as skins for dashboard and door panels, which are sold to various Tier-1 automotive suppliers. In 2016, RAI Most s.r.o. realised sales of CZK 547 million (~ EUR 20.3 million) and employed 390 people.

www.recticel.com