Case Study: Chengdu Tobacco Factory achieves early fire detection and protects millions in tobacco stock with Xtralis VESDA

VESDA smoke detectors protect millions of dollar’s worth of highly fl ammable tobacco in their warehouses

Chengdu Cigarette Factory, a major tobacco manufacturer with an annual turnover of US$554 million and 4,750 employees, needed a reliable fire detection solution for its new production and storage facility where large open spaces, high ceilings, dense racking, ventilation, heavy dust and routine pesticide fumigation made traditional spot detectors unreliable and suppression systems impractical.

The plant installed 51 VESDA aspirating smoke detectors (VLS 600 and VLP 400) with VESDA System Manager software, using sample pipes placed in ceilings, voids and along racks while mounting detectors in accessible locations away from fumigation. The system delivers very early warning, remote tuning and centralized monitoring, reducing nuisance alarms and giving staff time to investigate incidents—safeguarding employees, stock and uninterrupted production.