Ibstock Brick, the UK’s largest brickmaker, is set to bring an additional 100m bricks per year to the UK construction market having secured planning permission to proceed with the development of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at its existing site on Leicester Road in Ibstock.
As well as boosting job opportunities in the local area, Ibstock’s multi-million pound investment will, once completed, make a significant contribution to satisfying increased UK market demand for bricks. Ibstock’s ability to manufacture an additional 100 million bricks each year at the site using local clay reserves will be equivalent to the quantity required to build approximately an extra 15,000 homes each year.
As well as meeting the growing demand for bricks, the extended production facility will generate 50 additional new jobs to supplement the 340-strong Ibstock workforce in the area, helping to provide long-term and sustainable employment opportunities in the region.
Andrew Halstead-Smith, Group Marketing Manager at Ibstock, says: “Our Ibstock site has a 200 year history of brick production and throughout this period the company has continued to invest to ensure the ongoing quality of our market-leading brick products.
“The new facility will be the world’s most modern brick factory, using the very latest technologies to optimise production capability and reduce energy consumption. It is an exciting development both for Ibstock and the surrounding area, helping to generate new employment, secure existing jobs and enable us to upscale our production to meet the increasing demand for quality, UK-made bricks.”
Following the granting of planning permission to proceed with the development, Ibstock anticipate the new factory will be ready to start production by February 2017.
