back to article Apple's outsourced Lightning cable plant in India goes up in flames

Apple supplier Foxlink has admitted a fire damaged its plant in Tirupati, India, and that disruptions to production are to be expected as a result. Foxlink – or Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co., Ltd. as it is known in Taiwan – bills itself as "a total solution provider for fully-assembled accessories containing essential …

  1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
    Coat

    Let's hope

    They get their act together and lightning doesn't strike twice

    1. LateAgain

      Re: Let's hope

      It always does. Down and Up.

  2. xyz Silver badge

    >and fire alarms did not go off.

    Don't they have a app for that? Sorry, had to be said.

  3. Andy The Hat Silver badge

    "as Foxlink is insured"

    Given the comment

    "... that smoke detectors, sprinklers and fire hydrants were faulty, and fire alarms did not go off."

    I feel that the first statement may have a less secure footing than it appears.

    Generally "But can you confirm you actually performed a 9th century tribal rain dance whilst you home burned? If you refer to clause 14.1.1.2 "Essential Mitigation Measures", witnesses' names are required for the dancing otherwise the claim is invalid"

    1. Michael Strorm Silver badge

      Or maybe they opted for the "Neverpay" policy?

    2. Missing Semicolon Silver badge
      Trollface

      Of course the fire supression was operational!

      They will have a certificate to show that it was tested and working!

  4. IGotOut Silver badge
    Black Helicopters

    Link?

    EU effectively bans lightning connections for new phones.

    Apple factory making said cables burns to ground. No fire prevention in place

    Plant says fully insured.

    Anyone checked for a melted petrol can next to the burnt pile of boxes in the corner?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Link?

      Yes, my first thought was that this will likely speed up USB-C appearing in iPhones :).

      1. gnasher729 Silver badge

        Re: Link?

        Actually you need a lightning-to-usbc cable if you want to connect your old lightning phone say to a new Mac, or a new usb-c only charger. Or a future usbc iPhone to an old charger.

        1. Orv Silver badge

          Re: Link?

          Their old chargers all had USB-A connections, so what you'd need in the "old charger, new phone" case is a USB-A to USB-C cable. No Lightning involved unless you're really doing it the hard way.

    2. GioCiampa

      Re: Link?

      Have the BOFH and PFY been travelling, perchance?

    3. Sceptic Tank Silver badge

      Re: Link?

      The world does not end at the borders of the EU.

      1. ChrisC Silver badge

        Re: Link?

        You expect Apple to maintain two casing and I/O electronics variants just so they can continue to supply RoW with lightning sockets on their iThings, rather than standardising on USB-C for everyone?

        1. Orv Silver badge

          Re: Link?

          They already use USB-C on iPad Pros and MacBooks, so the writing's been on the wall for a while. Lightning is going to be a legacy connector very soon.

        2. Korev Silver badge
          Childcatcher

          Re: Link?

          You expect Apple to maintain two casing and I/O electronics variants just so they can continue to supply RoW with lightning sockets on their iThings, rather than standardising on USB-C for everyone?

          Additionally, Lightning usually operates at USB2 speeds which is rather slow these days

      2. IGotOut Silver badge

        Re: Link?

        "The world does not end at the borders of the EU."

        No, but it does include that tiny, low population place called India

        1. Dave559

          Re: Link?

          And India has (perfectly sensibly) also decided that USB-C is the right way forward.

          The EU (even without UK) is the world's largest single market for high-end tech goods. India and China may both be larger in population terms, but aren't (yet?) such big markets for more expensive products such as iPhones. With it being sensible for products to be the same worldwide, as far as is reasonably possible, I doubt anywhere is going to decide to want to hang on to Lightning or micro-USB just for the sake of it, now that the way the wind is blowing is clear (I doubt even the current UK government is quite that stupid).

      3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Link?

        "The world does not end at the borders of the EU"

        The ERG is probably thinking of demanding the UK mandate the ¼" jack.

        1. Number6

          Re: Link?

          More likely the I'm Alright Jack.

          1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

            Re: Link?

            Or the Up Yours Jack.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lightning cables?

    Or Firewire?

    1. Korev Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Lightning cables?

      The later versions of Firewire are actually faster than Lightning :)

  6. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "as Foxlink is insured [..] the blaze won't impact its bottom line"

    That's interesting, I wonder why companies have better insurance than people do.

    Because I'm pretty sure that, although my house is insured, if it burns down I'm not going to get all the money I put in it to buy a new house.

    And I will certainly not get enough to build a replacement house.

    Do I have to sign up for twice the insurance premiums ?

    1. Andy The Hat Silver badge

      Re: "as Foxlink is insured [..] the blaze won't impact its bottom line"

      In my experience you should as normal building insurance includes rebuild cost. However, as I said above (somewhat tongue in cheek) there is usually a "taking reasonable measures to prevent loss" clause. I would be very surprised if insurance premiums were not based on the declaration that well maintained fire prevention and mitigation strategies were in place - such as sprinklers, fire doors, dry/wet risers, alarms etc. Not conforming to such a clause immediately gives insurance companies a way out of paying the (full) claim.

    2. Jan 0
      Flame

      Re: "as Foxlink is insured [..] the blaze won't impact its bottom line"

      The money you put into it includes the price of the land. If your house "burns down", you still have the land and the rebuild will cost less than the price you paid for "the house".

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "as Foxlink is insured [..] the blaze won't impact its bottom line"

      "Because I'm pretty sure that, although my house is insured, if it burns down I'm not going to get all the money I put in it to buy a new house."

      What you describe is the case for most people. Most people insure their house for the value of the house. The value is based on what someone would pay for it. You're smart enough to notice that rebuilding a house costs more than the value of the house. There are lots of reasons for this, including the need to remove and dispose of the remains of the destroyed house. There's also the fact that you can only build a NEW house, while your value was for an old house.

      If you insure a house for its value, you're also forgetting that in a catastrophic loss you'll also have to replace all of the contents (again, with new).

      Add all of the above factors up (and then tack on an adder for needing a new house on short notice after a disaster, so you may pay expediting fees), and you'll find the value you need to insure to if you want a payout to cover everything.

      Oh, and judging by the experiences of some friends who have had major house fires, insurance companies will fight to pay out as little as possible on the end.

      1. Orv Silver badge

        Re: "as Foxlink is insured [..] the blaze won't impact its bottom line"

        What we're talking about here is a "current value" policy vs. a "replacement value" policy. In the US homes are usually insured for replacement value, but I don't know what the situation is in the UK. Cars, on the other hand, are usually insured for their current value unless you specifically negotiate a replacement value policy. Replacement value automotive policies are more common for things like RVs and collector cars.

        1. moonhaus

          Re: "as Foxlink is insured [..] the blaze won't impact its bottom line"

          Surely replacement value is the current value? I've never heard of a buildings and contents policy that didn't expect to pay out at current prices and I doubt many mortgage companies would accept anything less. Many even offer "new for old" replacement of contents as well.

  7. Sceptic Tank Silver badge
    Flame

    Hurry for some curry

    Employee's leaking chicken korma lunchbox was found to be the cause of the fire.

    1. IGotOut Silver badge

      Re: Hurry for some curry

      Well if you think a Korma is hot, I suggest you don't try anything really spicy like a glass of water.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Hurry for some curry

        I know of some Thai dishes where proper Thai cooks don't consider dynamite chillies hot enough so they roast them.

        Pro tip: never, EVER breath in the smoke from any fire where they're doing that, or you'll be coughing for almost an hour.

        As you will have probably guessed, nobody told me that..

  8. Potemkine! Silver badge

    How to make a bean counter happy.

    You want to make it cheap? Let's remove those expensive safety devices then.

    1. Korev Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: How to make a bean counter happy.

      Yep, the compensation will come out of a "different cost centre"

  9. Eclectic Man Silver badge

    Casualties?

    Umm, not wanting to be picky or anything, but we're there any casualties? Factories usually have human staff who expect to hear an alarm in the event of a fire or other hazard to life. The article does not seem to mention whether the workforce escaped unharmed.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Casualties?

      This bit?... "we followed detailed protocols to evacuate everyone quickly and safely," adding "There were no serious injuries and all employees have returned to their accommodation."

      1. Eclectic Man Silver badge
        Facepalm

        Re: Casualties?

        Missed that, thanks for letting me know.

  10. TRT Silver badge

    Do you see what happens...

    when you wire up your building's systems using USB-C cables?

  11. DubyaG

    This statement:

    "... that smoke detectors, sprinklers and fire hydrants were faulty, and fire alarms did not go off."

    Is inconsistent with:

    "... as Foxlink is insured for plant, equipment, and inventory the blaze won't impact its bottom line."

    Either their insurance company is run by fools, or something fishy is going on. Most commercial/industrial insurers, e.g. Factory Mutual use the evil eye against companies that do not comply with their loss prevention "recommendations".

    1. TRT Silver badge

      It's all to do with the reflected sound of underground spirits.

      1. Norman Nescio

        Ah, it looks like your timpano needs repairing.

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