Wienerberger accelerate sustainable growth strategy

Investment in new concrete roof tile manufacturing facility in Kent and new electric kilns at Broomfleet

WIENERBERGER UK & Ireland have announced a significant investment in the construction of a brand-new concrete roof tile manufacturing facility in Kent, along with the significant energy transformation of their Broomfleet factory, near Hull.

Designed to deliver organic growth from an increasingly efficient cost base, the investment will bring a significant and welcome increase in production capacity, whilst reducing resource consumption and CO2 emissions.

The new, state-of-the-art concrete roof tile production facility will be sited next to Wienerberger’s Smeed Dean brick factory, reinforcing the company’s commitment to UK operations and the South East in particular, where brick manufacture at Smeed Dean dates back to 1875.

The business will simultaneously complete the ambitious renovation of two of its Broomfleet factory lines, making it Europe’s first-ever clay roof-tile plant to completely eliminate the use of natural gas and the associated CO2 emissions from the drying and firing process, thereby reducing the carbon emissions of these lines by 75%.

Wienerberger say the announcement is representative of their confidence in the market and testament to their commitment to decarbonization via product innovation, services, and new methods of production.

In 2021, Wienerberger UK & Ireland set out their Sustainability Roadmap ‘Let’s Build Beyond’, which outlined the vital actions the business would take to create enduring value for its stakeholders as it transitioned to a net-zero emission, nature-positive business.

Chief operating officer Keith Barker commented: ‘We are aware of and want to tackle the issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource scarcity head-on by making sustainability the main driver of our company growth strategy.

‘This investment demonstrates our commitment to expansion in the UK and Ireland market and is fully aligned with our ambitions for the sustainable growth which will secure the future of our business.’

The new concrete tile-making facility will allow the company to better serve the needs of its customers with new and existing tile formats, providing significant additional production capacity with lower CO2 emissions per square metre of installed roof.

The transformational investment at the Broomfleet clay roof tile manufacturing site is driven by the desire to reduce resource consumption and CO2 output.

Wienerberger have chosen the UK for the first commercial-scale implementation of electric kilns using 100% renewable energy within the clay roof-tile manufacturing sector. This is a key step towards realizing their ambitious carbon reduction commitment and demonstrates consistent implementation of the Group’s ESG strategy.

Simon Nevitt, operations director and board member at Wienerberger UK & Ireland, commented: ‘We recognize the importance of rapidly reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and we are achieving this through both product innovation, and manufacturing methods.

‘This particular investment in two of our existing Broomfleet production lines eliminates our use of fossil fuels from the firing and drying processes, reducing the carbon emissions (Scope 1 tCO2e) from these lines by 75%.’

The phased transition process is due to begin later this year. Going forward, customers will benefit from a range of products with reduced embodied carbon content, supporting the construction industry’s transition to a net-zero carbon economy.