Michelmersh

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

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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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