Tuesday, 16 October 2018 10:55

Business as usual following fire

Written by 
The rubber conveyor belt was responsible for bulk of the smoke. The rubber conveyor belt was responsible for bulk of the smoke.

Fertiliser co-op Ravensdown says it has good stocks of finished fertiliser products despite a massive fire at its Hornby site last week.

Customers have resumed collecting fertiliser from the 14ha site; the fire affected the eastern end.

Ravensdown chief executive Greg Campbell says product quality has not suffered, ‘although in the initial restart of service customers could expect some congestion on the site”.

The fire appears to have started during maintenance work and spread along the roof line when a rubber conveyor belt ignited. 

“The rubber belt helped spread the fire through the roofs of the four store buildings and caused the black smoke seen across the city,” says Campbell. 

“The buildings affected were of new fibreglass construction and did not contain asbestos. The cladding responded as it should, allowing emergency services to put the fire out quickly and safely from outside the building.”

The fire only affected building materials and conveyor structures. Ravensdown does not store explosive materials in any of their manufacturing plants. The two small bangs heard were likely exploding gas bottles used during the maintenance work. 

More like this

MSA triumph

OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first foray into fertiliser co-operative governance.

Featured

Jack Jordan takes Stihl Timbersports gold for NZ

Going one better than a frustratingly close second place finish at last year's event, the country's top axeman, Jack Jordan of Taumaranui, last weekend won the Stihl Timbersports World Championship individual event in.

Canterbury A&P Show expands with new Wool Zone

Canterbury A&P Association (CAPA) show president Brent Chamberlain says a big development for this year is the Wool Zone, first introduced two years ago as a showplace for everything produced from wool, but now greatly enlarged with its own Wool Marquee and more than 30 trade sites.

Expo scales to new heights

Engaging, thought provoking speakers, relevant seminars and relatable topics alongside innovative produces and services are the order of the day at the 2026 East Coast Farming Expo.

National

Machinery & Products

New pick-up for Reiter R10 merger

Building on experience gained during 10 years of making mergers/ windrowers, Austrian company Reiter has announced the secondgeneration pick-up on…

Krone EasyCut B1250 fold

In 2024, German manufacturer Krone introduced the F400 Fold, a 4m wide disc front mower, featuring end modules that hinge…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Microplastics problem

OPINION: Microplastics are turning up just about everywhere in the global food supply, including in fish, cups of tea, and…

Job cuts

OPINION: At a time when dairy prices are at record highs, no one was expecting the world's second largest dairy…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter