MICHELMERSH
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A GREENER TOMORROW
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MICHELMERSH
I PROFILE
Premium clay product manufacturer Michelmersh proudly manufactures over 125 million clay bricks and pavers every year across 150 core range products and seven marketleading premium brands. Serving customers ranging from housebuilders to homeowners, self-builders, architects and builders’ merchants, Michelmersh has enjoyed consistent growth while impressing with a string of acquisitions and product developments. Group Innovation Director Sarah Le Gresley met with Richard Hagan to discuss how Michelmersh is helping to build the future of the UK and Europe.
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Michelmersh’s headquarters in Freshfield Lane, West Sussex, the discovery of Roman-era
pottery indicates that the site - which includes ancient woodland - has been used for centuries for the production of ceramics of various kinds prior to its establishment as a brick manufacturing centre at the turn of the nineteenth century. Today, Michelmersh proudly continues the site’s history as part of the Group's 500+ acres of brickmaking whilst also making history in its own right.
Growth brick by brick Under the expert leadership of joint CEOs Frank Hanna and Peter Sharp, Michelmersh has grown its annual UK brick production
Group Innovation Director Sarah Le Gresley
from around 30 million to 125 million as well
Floren.be, a Belgian manufacturer
as expanding the business outside the UK’s
that offers a broad spectrum of bricks,
borders, into Europe.
consisting of over 70 different colours
In addition to organic growth, Michelmersh
in more than 10 different sizes.
has grown through acquisition. In 2016,
Michelmersh continued to grow, acquiring
it acquired Carlton Brickworks - offering
FabSpeed late in 2022; a specialist
bricks for the large mass-volume house-
prefabrication manufacturer of off-site
building developments - which delivered
lightweight and structural preformed
exponential growth for Michelmersh. Then
lintels, arches and façade slip systems,
in 2019, Michelmersh celebrated another
as well as prefabricated chimneys and
major milestone when it acquired
special shaped bricks.
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Sarah Le Gresley: “Unlike the brick manufacturing side of our business, the prefabricated elements require less energy to produce. In many scenarios, the emisWith FabSpeed, Carlton and Floren
sions reduction also extends to the job site,
under its umbrella, Michelmersh now
because there’s a reduced need for on-site
employs a total of over 450 staff across
labour, better safety and working condi-
several manufacturing facilities spanning
tions, reduced urban congestion and less
the United Kingdom and Belgium.
on-site waste – improving environmental benefits from improved consistency and
A sustainable foundation
greater precision than on-site conditions
Michelmersh has taken large strides to
can allow.
become more sustainable, both in terms
“While we thrive on traditional manufac-
of its own operations and in terms of its
turing, building products and construction
product range.
techniques, we believe that there are
Michelmersh’s 2022 acquisition of
compelling benefits with prefabrication,
FabSpeed was a significant sustainability
and they all contribute to the sustain-
milestone for the company because
ability values of the business. It allows us
it ushered the group into a new era
to have a less energy-intensive process
of modern methods of construction,
while still offering high-quality products
according to Group Innovation Director
and services to our customers.”
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A hydrogen-powered future
The company’s
Michelmersh has actively explored
combined decar-
hydrogen as an alternative fuel for its
bonisation efforts
kilns. In its HyBrick innovative world-first
have seen it already
research project, Michelmersh successfully
achieve a 21% reduc-
proved that hydrogen was both a viable
tion in its CO2 emissions,
alternative to natural gas and that it results
most of which has come from a host of
in substantial emissions savings.
efficiency improvements. It expects further
Using £300,000 in energy funding that it
reductions from its ongoing project to install
won from the UK Government, Michelmersh
rooftop solar panels on its production sites,
conducted three trials, each containing
in addition to buying as much as 91.5% of the
approximately 400 bricks. All three tests
group’s remaining electricity needs from
were a resounding success, delivering
renewable sources.
80-84% gas carbon emissions reduction.
“There’s lots of exciting work going on
“It was a massive win,” Mrs Le Gresley
in our sustainability programme,” Mrs Le
recalled. “We were the first company to
Gresley said. “We’re trying to think of all
use 100 per cent green hydrogen to
the links in the chain, where we can make
fire bricks. The successful outcome of
a difference; from electrical vehicles to
the trials proved that there’s a sustain-
mental health, biodiversity and beyond.”
able future in using hydrogen for brick manufacturing.” As a result of this project, Michelmersh
Taking manufacturing online In July 2023, Michelmersh launched
won the Decarbonisation Trailblazer Award
SustainableBrick.com, an online resource
from the British Ceramics Association.
aimed at showcasing the many benefits
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MICHELMERSH
I PROFILE
of clay brick to specifiers whilst highlighting
long-life cycle period of clay bricks: “The
the ambitious sustainability investments the
current system for Environmental Product
UK ceramics industry has already taken;
Declarations (EPDs) assumes a study
whilst also helping to offer tools to SMEs and
period for a building’s life at only 60 years
smaller manufacturers in this collaborative
or only 1 per cent the age of the oldest fired
effort to achieve net zero. It also hosts
bricks in the world, which were made over
Michelmersh’s sustainability roadmap – its
6,000 years ago – and many of which are
sustainability KPIs and details about its net
still here today.
zero programme, alongside the innovative products it is producing.
“But given the inherent durability and longevity of clay bricks, the expected life
“We’re currently working with the British
of a building can easily be prolonged and
Ceramic Confederation to host resources
passed down through many generations,
and promote industry wide efforts for the
as opposed to other materials which must
whole industry,” Mrs Le Gresley explained.
be imported and which will often then be
“The industry as a whole has put over £750
replaced several times during the building’s
million into sustainable investments in the
lifespan, exponentially increasing its
last decade, while reducing its absolute
carbon footprint.”
emissions by half. It’s an extremely impressive achievement. “Therefore, we’ve set up this resource to encourage this kind of news sharing and
Therefore, Michelmersh believes that it’s time to start ‘thinking and designing for longer’. “We should consider how our grandchil-
win sharing across the industry, even if
dren will think of the assets that we built
it involves our competitors. We’re more
and which they will care for,” Mrs Le Gresley
than willing to highlight and showcase the
said. “This campaign is about driving home
whole ceramic industry’s efforts to make
the benefits of long-term design choices for
headway in the fight for net zero, to show
our built environment and concentrating on
consumers the progressive attitude of the
whole life cycle analysis.
clay ceramics sector.”
In conclusion, Mrs Le Gresley emphasised that Michelmersh will continue all
Rethinking buildings
efforts to strive for a better future for all
Looking to the future, Michelmersh launched
of us: “We should all be working towards
a campaign called ‘Think Longer’, for which it
that, and Michelmersh will keep doing all
encourages architects to design buildings
it can to be a company that provides high
which last for a 200-year life span, not 20.
quality, local products which benefits the
According to Mrs Le Gresley, this campaign
people, the environment and the industry
seeks to take advantage of the inherently
as a whole.”
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