Fire-damaged plant to be rebuilt
Publisher - BBC News (www.bbc.co.uk) on 14/12/2009
A plastics recycling factory which was destroyed in one of the biggest fires Lincolnshire crews have ever dealt with is about to be rebuilt.
Damage caused by the fire in August at the former aircraft hangar Hemswell Cliff, near Gainsborough, ran into millions of pounds.
AWS ECO Plastics Ltd was forced to lay off 40 staff after parts of its operation were destroyed.
Managers hope to re-employ many when the new unit opens in February.
'Necessary evil'
The factory's storage unit was so badly damaged, it had to be completely demolished.
The bulldozers moved out this week and rebuilding work is due to start on Monday.
AWS Eco Plastics Managing Director Jonathan Short said: "It's good to be back, certainly within four or five months, to what we're good at which is processing plastics. That's what we do.
"We're not really interested in demolition, but it's a necessary evil, that's something we had to go through."
Black smoke could be seen for miles after a fault in a fan unit at the plant started the fire on 25 August.
At its height, 70 firefighters tackled the blaze and a care home had to be partially evacuated.
It also spread to neighbouring firms.
Ian Watson, the owner of a fencing company, was forced to move to new premises and rebuild it from scratch after everything was destroyed.
He said: "It's hard work, very hard work. I thought the hard work was over when we first started, but we're back to square one again. But we'll survive, we'll keep pushing."
