Vista Outdoor acquired Fiber Energy Product two and a half years ago to produce BBQ pellets for their subsidiary, Camp Chef. Unfortunately, they had a fire at their Seymour, Missouri pant in February.
According to the Southern Webster County Fire Protection District’s Battalion Chief Mark Hensley, one of the two main buildings on the property caught fire around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 6, and continued into the morning. The Chief confirmed that the second building also caught fire, but those flames are now under control. Chief Hensley cautioned it might take days before the fire at the first warehouse is extinguished.
Eric Smith, Communications Manager, Fiber Energy Products
Vista Outdoor purchased the pellet making operation during the Pandemic when demand was significantly increasing for pellet grills. Since then, other companies have reduced their pellet operations to meet decreased demand. Vista was asked about the future of this operation on their earnings call this week.
I mean it certainly was tough to see that, that happen to the team down there. We’re evaluating right now. It’s a little bit early for us to be able to say what the exact outcome is going to be. We’re working through the insurance claim, as it’s covered by our insurance group. So, we have a few things that we’re working through. We’ll certainly have more updates in the months ahead as we come up with the solution down there.
Andrew Keegan, CFO, Vista Outdoor
While it’s not saying that they will reduce their pellet operation footprint, it’s certainly not a show of support either. With insurance money to pay for the fire, it may give them an opportunity to lower their production capacity without incurring the usual associated costs.