Mississippi Tractor Wheel Factory Gutted by Fire

A fire at a factory in Tupelo, Miss., that makes lawn tractor wheels may have caused millions in damage.

Local media report no one was injured by the fire at Custom Engineered Wheels, which broke out late Thursday. Officials say the fire that gutted the 36,000-square foot building was accidental, starting on a piece of equipment.

The building had no sprinkler system.

Custom Engineered Wheels supplies wheels to lawn equipment maker MTD Products in Verona. Plant manager Chris Marinello says the company hopes to fill the gap with inventory in a neighboring warehouse, plus production from plants in Indiana and Mexico.

The Tupelo plant had about 50 workers. Some employees will get paid, but others won’t

Marinello says the company doesn’t know how much of its $15 million in equipment is salvageable.

Topics Mississippi Manufacturing