The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) is in the process of issuing an order to suspend operations of SET-listed Indorama Ventures Plc (IVL) at Map Ta Phut industrial estate in Rayong province after a fire.
IVL declined to give any information about the incident in the Map Ta Phut area and did not report any damage to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, but the company told the Bangkok Post that it had already reported the incident and provided information to the government.
The fire occurred at IVL subsidiary Indorama Polyester Industries in Rayong. On Monday, a motor blower caught fire in Fibre Line 2, a part of the plant that makes polyester staple fibre, polyester conjugate, hollow fibre and polyester chips.
In 2008 IVL acquired the facility, which is adjacent to the national petrochemical complex in Rayong and has a production capacity of 121,000 tonnes a year.
The PET resin line from the facility serves the PET bottle market for carbonated soft drinks, water and other applications.
IEAT deputy governor Somchint Pilouk said relevant state agencies are investigating the incident at Fibre Line 2.
The government has ordered the company to update the IEAT with any new information in compliance with Section 37 of the Factory Act of 1992.
The fire at IVL in Map Ta Phut follows a similar case with SET-listed Tata Steel Thailand Plc on Oct 6.
IEAT ordered Tata to close its plant for 15 days until an investigation was completed.
"The primary cause was found to be a penetration and tungsten inert gas welding at the air vent pipe when it had steam," Ms Somchint said. "No one was injured in the accident, there was no leakage of hazardous chemicals to the environment, and no impact to neighbouring factories and surrounding communities."
The state-run IEAT is the operator of the Map Ta Phut complex and is taking part in the investigation.
IVL is one of the world's leading petrochemical makers, with a global manufacturing footprint across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas with 75 operating sites in 25 countries.
In Thailand, IVL has 13 operating sites nationwide.
"The IEAT will set a meeting with the IVL team again soon to update the investigation results," Ms Somchint said. "But IVL itself must briefly investigate and make security measures to prevent any recurring accident."
The Industrial Works Department under the Industry Ministry has advised factories in Thailand to exercise caution to avoid fire incidents that often happen in the winter.
IVL shares closed on Wednesday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 54.50 baht, up 25 satang, in trade worth 1.05 billion baht.
