Covered Bridge Potato Chips owner says he'll rebuild N.B. plant destroyed by fire
CBC
The owner of a New Brunswick potato chip plant destroyed by fire says he plans to rebuild it in the same spot where it burned down.
Ryan Albright said he's been working with his insurance company, and while it will likely be a lengthy process, he hopes to rebuild the Covered Bridge Potato Chips manufacturing plant as soon as possible.
"We're also in full design mode, you know, trying to lay out building equipment, looking at timelines," Albright said in an interview Wednesday.
"But that'll be an evolving thing over the next days and weeks to come," he said, adding that he hopes the plant can will have increased processing capacity along with a more efficient manufacturing operation.
The plant just off the Trans-Canada Highway went up in flames Friday afternoon, and by the next day, all that was left were the charred metal remains of the building and equipment.
No one was injured, but the plant alone employed about 120 people, and benefited local truckers and farmers in western New Brunswick.
The New Brunswick fire marshal is now investigating, and a cause has not been revealed.
Albright said he's still waiting on the findings of the fire marshal's investigation but believes the fire started in the part of the plant where the potatoes are fried.
He said about 30 employees were at work when the fire started. At the time, Albright was driving to Bangor, Me., to meet his wife, a travel nurse.
About an hour into his drive, he said he received a call from an employee telling him about the fire
He turned around and drove back to the plant to find the building in flames.
"Standing there watching it was, it was pretty devastating, you know, looking at the 18 years of your adult life being gone up in smoke."
But while the manufacturing plant was destroyed, Albright said that he feels fortunate no one was injured and that other crucial parts of the business are situated in other locations.
Those include two large shipping warehouses, a raw materials warehouse and the company's head office in Saint Thomas, about 10 kilometres away.
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