On 20 August, 2020, Sichuan Hebang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Sichuan Hebang) announced that some of its production lines, including those manufacturing glyphosate products, had stopped working temporarily because of the flood swamping its factories in Wutongqiao District, Leshan City, Sichuan Province on 18 August.
The company has adopted flood defense emergency plan and estimated that the production suspension would end within three months.
Specifically, the following subsidiaries and production facilities has been directly impacted by the flood.
² The integrated soda production lines (capacity: 900,000t/a) and glyphosate production lines stopped working, so did the methionine production facilities.
² Production lines for PMIDA of Leshan Hebang Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. also stopped working.
² Sales of brine and natural gas of Sichuan Hebang Salt Co., Ltd. and Leshan Yongjiang Industry Co., Ltd. have been paused because of the suspension of the above-mentioned production lines.
The unflooded 300,000t/a integrated soda production lines of the company have been in normal operation.
Sichuan Hebang estimated USD50.6 million~USD65.0 million losses in total due to the flood, of which USD10.1 million~USD13.0 million are for fixed assets including equipment & facilities and factories, and USD40.5 million~USD52.0 million for inventories. The deep water makes it hard to determine the exact amount of incurred loss. The company is now fighting against the flood and strives for production resumption as soon as possible.