NEWPORT, Wash. - More than 100 employees went back to work at the Zodiac Aerospace facility in Newport Monday, three weeks after an explosion ended the plant's operations.

"Most employees seem happy to be back at work and have their normal routine," said Mike Pound, plant manager for the facility that produces cabin interiors for airplane manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus. "There was a lot of desire to still support our customer base so we made an aggressive recovery schedule and were able to hit it," Pound said.

An explosion believed to be caused by a pre-preg treater machine ripped through the plant and echoed throughout the community shortly before 9 p.m. on July 14.

An entire floor of the building collapsed onto another, windows shattered, doors were blown off their hinges and the presence of a chemical odor led to the implementation of a 1,000 foot evacuation.

The evacuation was lifted at 3 a.m. after investigators determined the chemical odor had dissipated over time and no longer posed a risk to the public.

Of the 15 employees working at the time 11 were treated for injuries. Two employees were transported via LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. Both have since been released and are recovering at home.

Employees from the facility did not see a disruption in pay during their time away from work, according to Pound.

Apart from the pre-preg production, all the industrial activities of the Newport facility returned to operation. In the beginning of the week, the production of formulated products such as glue, adhesives and resin restarted.

As deliveries of raw materials resumed, the production of composite panels restarted at the Marysville, Wash., facility. The production in Newport is set to resume early next week when the multi-plate panel press becomes operational again.

"The building will be returned to its stature and we intend to stay there," Pound said.

A press release from Zodiac Aerospace stated, "All in all, these actions result in rebuilding a production capacity similar to the one before the accident."

The investigation to determine the cause of the explosion to establish the circumstances and determine the root cause is ongoing. The company has set up an internal inquiry as well as fully cooperating with local and federal authorities.

The Newport facility employs 104 and according to the Wall Street Journal, Zodiac is one of the world's largest suppliers of aircraft interiors.