ELM CITY, NC – Following a late December fire that devastated its manufacturing plant, Fawn Electronics has relocated into a temporary site in Wilson, NC, where it is performing final integration while working feverishly to reestablish full production.

Early in the morning of Dec. 22, fire ripped through the company's plant in Elm City, destroying much of it. The fire has been ruled accidental. Work has been subcontracted while the new site is brought online. In an email, Fawn Electronics president Art Rutledge told Circuits Assembly the company's surface-mount and wave solder lines will be running in its current temporary location by mid-February. "All equipment is on order and scheduled for delivery over the next two weeks," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Rutledge said, workers are setting up the infrastructure for the incoming equipment. "Our plan is to be running product by the middle of February. "

In the interim, Fawn Electronics is using outside manufacturing services for certain operations, Rutledge told Circuits Assembly.

According to published reports, the burned plant received water from a well, which could not support a sprinkler system. County officials on Jan. 9 approved a $760,000 project to supply a proposed new site with a water pipeline.

Fawn Electronics employed 95 workers at the former facility. It is bringing staff back online as it gets the new plant up and running. At about 23,000 sq. ft., Fawn’s space in the Wilson site is about half the size of the Elm City facility.

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