Reuters reports that Apple's manufacturing partner Pegatron has acknowledged that a "small explosion" has occurred at one of its factories in Shanghai, China. The report notes that there have been some injuries as a result of the incident, but there are no reports of fatalities at this time.
Pegatron said in a statement released early on Sunday that there was some damage to machinery but it can readjust the facility so the impact on its operations and revenues will not be big.
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A source with knowledge of the matter said the facility affected is partly used to make products for Apple.
Pegatron has been a supplier for the CDMA iPhone 4 and has also been ramping up to begin adding to iPhone 4S capacity, with most of its production set to be focused on Asian distribution. There have also been claims that Pegatron is coming on board as a manufacturer for the iPad 3.
The news is reminiscent of that regarding a May explosion at one of Foxconn's facilities where it worked on Apple products, including the iPad. That explosion killed three workers and injured well over a dozen others.
Update: Reuters has updated its report to note that 61 workers were injured in the explosion and that the factory had not yet begun production. The facility is said to be planned to produce back panel parts for the iPad 2. Apple has also issued a statement on the situation:
"Our hearts go out to the people who were hurt in Songjiang. We are working closely with Pegatron to understand the cause of this accident," said spokeswoman Carolyn Wu.
Top Rated Comments
Well, maybe worry about explosions as well. According to http://dustexplosions.blogspot.com/ : "In 2008, information obtained through media reports indicated 200+ combustible dust related fires and explosions in the grain, manufacturing, utility, and non-manufacturing sectors in the United States."
One explosion and suicides not at one plant, but at a company that employs about 800,000 people. Widely reported because that company builds stuff for Apple (and dozens of other, less interesting companies), but ignoring the fact that the suicide rate in the US population is about four times higher than the rate among Foxconn employees. And now one explosion at a different plant, when apparently there were 200 explosions in the USA in 2008 alone.
Since you replied to a post that threw suicides into the discussion: If Apple pulled out from China, and ten thousands of Chinese people lost their jobs and livelihood, how many suicides would that cause?
Never look for a conspiracy when something can be explained by stupidity or rushing on the part of management.
It was probably caused by combustible dust, the same as happened to that iPad factory (http://techland.time.com/2011/05/24/combustible-dust-plant-explosion-may-cost-apple-500000-ipads/) earlier this year.
If it was an apple store, with apple employees I would understand. But the company should take care of its employees and Apple should choose it vendors based on numerous factors. worker safety playing a big part.
(sorry for the rant)
Peace on Earth and Merry Christmas... (to those who choose to celebrate it)
Happy Holidays to everyone else.
I've never been to any of their iStuff factories so I don't know what they have in there. Do you?
I would imagine they could have some volatile chemicals.