Naco Industries Inc. officials have yet to decide whether to rebuild their fabrication plant in Garden City, Kan., after a fire destroyed the facility July 21.
Logan, Utah-based Naco will move all the lost production to its facilities in Logan and Lodi, Calif., said Naco owner Mike Hopkins in a July 27 telephone interview.
``We have excess capacity at the other two facilities and we'll ramp up production to compensate for downtime in Garden City,'' Hopkins said.
Naco manufactures primarily PVC fittings and valves for agricultural irrigation systems and utilities. The company employed about 35 in Garden City. The displaced workers have been offered jobs in Utah, Hopkins said.
The damaged plant's size was not available, he said.
The Kansas Fire Marshal's office in Topeka has ruled the cause of the fire ``undetermined,'' said Rose Rozmiarek, chief of investigations.
``That's mostly due to the amount of damage that was caused by the fire,'' Rozmiarek said.
A material-filled warehouse near the plant was not destroyed. Hopkins said Naco will continue production and distribution to its customers during the transitional period, until the operation is re-established. Hopkins said he has yet to decide whether to rebuild in Garden City, or to explore opening a plant in a different location.
``At this point in time, we will rebuild,'' he said. ``But that decision has not yet been made as far as where we will rebuild.''