Cigarette Making Enterprise in Quake-Striven Area Strives to Resume Production

Source from:  Mianyang City 05/26/2008

The Mianyang Branch Cigarette Factory of Sichuan-Chongqing Regional China Tobacco Industry Corporation, which lies in Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province hit hard by a devastating earthquake on May 12, is striving to repair its production facilities seriously damaged in the earthquake for an early resumption of cigarette production. On May 19, just seven days after the powerful earthquake, the staff members and workers of the Mianyang Branch Cigarette Factory threw themselves into the busy work of repairing damaged facilities for resuming production. They planned to spend 20 days in putting things in order for resuming production on a full scale by June 8. Sichuan is also a large tobacco-producing region in China. The confirmed death toll from the earthquake has risen to more than 60,000 while more than 300,000 people remained injured. The magnitute-8 earthquake has caused serious damage to buildings, bridges and other public facilities in an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers both in Sichuan and its neighboring regions. Quake-related losses to companies totaled 67 billion yuan (9.5 billion U.S. dollars), Deputy Industry Minister Xi Guohua said recently. Seriously affected by the earthquake, Mianyang City is just 50 kilometers away from the epicenter. For the Mianyang Branch Cigarette Factory, it sustained widespread damage from the earthquake, with the workshop buildings ruptured or collapsed, and with its production equipment damaged to different extents. The factory's central air conditioning system, power system, electricity supply system, water supply system, drainage system and support production facilities were seriously damaged, which has totally paralyzed its production. In efforts to minimize losses from the earthquake and meet the market demand for cigarette supply, Sichuan-Chongqing Regional China Tobacco Industry Corporation - the operator of the tobacco industries in Sichuan Province and its neighboring Chongqing City - held a meeting on disaster relief on May 19, making comprehensive arrangements for the resumption of production. The meeting required the Mianyang Branch Cigarette Factory to strive to repair damaged facilities and resume production in 20 days. In order to promote efforts for production resumption in a powerful, orderly and effective way, the Mianyang Branch Cigarette Factory has established a leading group in charge of the work of disaster relief and production resumption, which has under it several specialized taskforces respectively for the work of comprehensive coordination, relocation of cigarette making equipment, etc, and also two cells respectively in charge of the work of disciplinary inspection and logistic supply. According to the relevant disaster relief and production resumption plan of the factory, workers will dismantle the cardboard box and tobacco strip production equipment on the first floor of the main workshop building, and relocate cigarette making equipment and all support production equipment to the place, in order to resume cigarette production by June 8. So far, they have completed the production of all semi-finished products on the cardboard box and tobacco strip production lines, and are getting things ready for dismantlement and relocation. Besides, the factory's Department of Production has managed to seal and relocate more than 20,000 kilograms of cut tobacco in storage, and has organized workers to dismantle the equipment concerned. Director Qin Fubing of the Mianyang Branch Cigarette Factory has said that the leadership of the factory will, with a high sense of responsibility, well organize the work of repairing damaged facilities and make scientific arrangements for production resumption by June 8. Enditem