On the evening of April 27, a major fire broke out at the VAUDE company headquarters in Tettnang, Obereisenbach. The fire resulted from lightening striking the roof of the production facilities during a severe thunderstorm in the area at that time.
The fire was quickly noticed and reported immediately, and the fire department was on site within a matter of minutes, according to reports. Despite the efforts of more than 70 firefighters involved, the fire was still able to spread throughout the entire roof.
In the end, the production facilities and the VAUDE Kinderhaus were greatly damaged, reported the company, and the building must be completely renovated.
“This damage greatly saddens us. However, we are very relieved that no one was injured and that our new facilities, as well as the logistic division and the management were not affected,” said Antje von Dewitz, VAUDE CEO.
Due to the fire, the production facility in Obereisenbach, which is largely responsible for the waterproof pannier lines, is not operating at this time. VAUDE will still be able to meet all pre-orders on time, said the company. However, it is not yet clear as to what extent VAUDE will be able to meet day-orders over the next few weeks. “In the next few days we will determine when we can produce which quantities, and we will inform our customers as soon as possible,” as Antje von Dewitz reports. “The fire puts us in an unexpected situation and we are grateful that if in light of these circumstances our dealers can forgive us for any delays in delivery they may experience.”
The remaining operations at VAUDE will continue as usual. New premises for the Kinderhaus have already been found, in which the day care center will move into temporarily. “We are overwhelmed by the wave of assistance reaching us from all sides,” Antje von Dewitz stated. “The city of Tettnang, the Building Department, the Fire Department, the workers on site and the surrounding kindergartens are providing us with an enormous amount of support. We are especially grateful to all the firefighters who spent the entire night battling this blaze. Thank you all for all your efforts!”
