Ibstock: new Walsall plant to be ready by 2022

Ibstock has announced plans to build a new production site in Walsall, West Midlands (UK) for an investment of £45 million.

A highly sustainable state-of-the-art facility, it will replace the existing factory used to produce the Atlas range and is expected to have an output of 80 million bricks per year.

“This investment will expand further our capacity against a backdrop of a significant UK housing deficit and robust demand from the new build housing sector,” explained Joe Hudson, CEO of Ibstock. “We will initiate construction in 2020, with the factory expected to be commissioned in 2022.”

The new investment was announced as Ibstock posted its 2019 results showing a strong financial performance. Turnover was up 5% from £391 million in 2018 to £409 million, with £300 million generated by the Clay division. A significant contribution to the group’s growth was made by the Eclipse plant in Leicestershire, completed in 2018 with an annual production capacity of 100 million soft mud bricks.

“2019 was a year of progress against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty,” said Hudson. “We made good progress against our strategic priorities, including measures to enhance production volumes and quality, the strengthening of our executive team and expanding our concrete business, through the acquisition of Longley Concrete in Yorkshire.”

Production efficiency and sustainability remain the group’s top priorities. In 2019 Ibstock set out its targets to 2025, which include increasing sales of sustainable solutions, reducing CO2 by 15% per ton of production and achieving zero waste to landfill.