Samsung SDI, the battery maker division of the tech giant, reported a “minor fire” in one of its Chinese factories. The local fire department concluded that a waste deposit of faulty batteries was the cause of the safety hazard.
The company’s spokesperson confirmed the firemen’s findings. Samsung’s Shing Yong-doo also revealed the fire broke out separately from the working facilities, not affecting neither employees nor production.
Samsung’s battery nightmare continues with this last event. The firm lost over $5 billion after seeing themselves in need of recalling Galaxy Note 7 devices all around the world due to battery problems.
What happened at Samsung SDI’s s factory?
Lithium batteries, along with half-finished products, caught on fire in the production workshops, according to the Wuqing, Tianjin Fire Department.
The update was later suspiciously deleted, but users online managed to capture a screenshot before it disappeared from the site. Shing Yong-doo, a spokesman for Samsun Electronics, then offered a hedged account of the incident to the press.
Samsung SDI’s facilities in northern China comprise only one of five different factories currently operating in the territory. Workers at the compound continued activities as usual while more than 100 firemen and almost 20 fire trucks took care of the situation.
The factory previously manufactured the faulty batteries on the Galaxy Note 7. Now, presumably, it produces the new batteries for the Samsung Galaxy 8, raising concerns among consumers and investors alike.
Samsung’s losses were significant enough last year with the massive recall of Note 7 devices. The South Korean firm could face some real hardships if a similar episode happens with the launch of their next flagship.
The company has repeatedly vowed to earn back consumers’ trust by raising safety standards and developing products of even greater quality. Samsung SDI noted that they had invested nearly $130 million in security this month to ensure no more accidents.
Samsung will launch the Galaxy 8 in April with some extras
Apple’s main Android competitor recently said they would include a free 256 GB microSD card with every Samsung Galaxy 8, a decent incentive for people to hop on Samsung’s train once again.
Luckily, there are still a couple of months before the new smartphone launches in April. The firm can work on tuning these technical details, if they exist, ahead of release and the Mobile World Congress later this month.
Brands like Nokia and Huawei are positioning themselves more solidly in the Android market, and they could capitalize on this kind of accidents to replace Samsung in the Android smartphone market.
Source: Reuters
