Sahyin Karagöz, manager of the packaging company Servietto based in Merelbeke-Melle, Flanders, is deeply distressed by the devastating fire that completely destroyed his warehouse on Wednesday, leaving the future of the company’s ten employees uncertain.
“I feel empty. I don’t want to go outside,” he confides, visibly upset. The damage is extensive, and the future appears uncertain.
The fire broke out while the manager had briefly left to run an errand. “When I returned, it was already too late,” he recounts. Three-quarters of the stock were destroyed.
The business owner had recently purchased packaging machinery from the company Dimpack in Deerlijk, shortly before its bankruptcy. This machine, which was scheduled for installation in September, had not yet been set up at Servietto in Melle-Merelbeke.
The company employs about ten people who have not yet been laid off. “They are still helping with the cleanup. But if we cannot find another site and restart operations, we will be forced to let them go,” warns Karagöz.
The cause of the fire remains uncertain at this time, though arson is suspected to be unlikely. “It’s a mystery to us. There might have been an IT-related issue, but we don’t know,” the manager adds. An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the incident.
