Ibstock Brick, the UK’s largest brick manufacturer, hosted a visit from Housing Minister Kris Hopkins MP at its redeveloped Chesterton factory.
Following the release of figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government showing that the last three months have seen the fastest rate of housebuilding since 2008, the Minister was given a tour of the world-leading production site, which has benefitted from more than £20m of investment. This has enabled it to respond well to the current rise in brick demand.
The redevelopment of the Chesterton site ensures it benefits from the latest manufacturing technology for high quality and sustainable production. It has secured 80 factory-related jobs and guarantees opportunities for the local community for the next 25 years – playing a vital role in Chesterton and the surrounding region.
Kris Hopkins MP, commented: “I am gobsmacked at the scale of production. I think the community of Staffordshire can be proud they have got such a high-tech facility on their doorstep. It’s been great to see Ibstock’s state-of-the-art factory and meet with workers who are ramping up production and, for the first time in years, keeping the factory running over the Christmas period to help get Britain building again."
Colin Richardson, Director of Manufacturing Development at Ibstock Brick, commented on the visit: “It was a privilege to welcome the Housing Minister to our site. We’re really proud of our factory in Chesterton so it was a good opportunity to showcase what has been achieved with our investment in Ibstock’s future. It is the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly factory of its type in the world today and has the capacity to produce 80 million bricks per year, so we’re well placed to respond to the return to growth of the construction industry.”
Ibstock’s investment in Chesterton and re-commissioning of one of its Leicester factories earlier in 2013 means it has capacity to bring an additional 120m bricks per year to the market from this year.