Scotland's Brick and Tile Manufacturing Industry

20/04/1972 – Incorporated – Ibstock Scottish Brick Ltd, Tannochside Works Old Edin. Rd., Uddingston, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, G71 6HL.

1994 – Ibstock purchases its first (brick) works at Tannochside in Scotland. (Tannochside Brickworks, Uddingston, South Lanarkshire?)

07/04/1995 – Independent – Ibstock purchases Centurion Brick and Scottish Brick in 1995 (Note – SBH – The company then became the Ibstock Scottish Brick Ltd. Tannochside Factory, Old Edinburgh Road, Uddingston, Lanarkshire).

Ibstock, Britain’s third-largest brick manufacturer, confirmed yesterday that it had approached Tarmac with a view to buying its brick-making operations. It said it was too early to say whether a deal, estimated to be worth between £60m and £90m, would go ahead.

Ibstock, which bounced back into the black in the first half of 1994 after two years of heavy losses, said recently it planned to increase its brick-making capacity following the sale of its stake in Caima, a Portuguese forestry and pulp company.

Tarmac, which ranks fourth in the UK after Ibstock, Hanson and Redland, made about 300 million bricks last year, less than 10 per cent of the market. It is understood to have considered that share to be too small to be regarded as a core business.

The acquisition would almost double Ibstock’s market share of about 11 per cent, taking it ahead of Hanson and Redland, which both have just under a fifth each.

It has already increased its capacity by 50 million bricks this year with the purchase for £15m of Centurion Brick and Scottish Brick.

Following a recovery in demand from housebuilders, especially in the first half of last year, the industry is starting to rebuild capacity for the first time since the beginning of the building slump.

Brick sales rose by about 11 per cent last year and further increases are expected this year. Stock levels have fallen sharply, reaching the lowest levels for six years and more capacity is needed even if, as expected, the housing market remains relatively subdued.

Analysts questioned the wisdom of Ibstock swapping one highly cyclical business – pulp – for a focus on another.

Caima, in which Ibstock holds a 56 per cent stake worth just under £50m, suffered heavily in the recession and the closure of one of its plants cost Ibstock an exceptional £18m in 1992.

As with bricks, the industry had become oversupplied and prices for pulp fell from a high of $720 a tonne in 1989 to $350 at the bottom of the cycle.

Despite rises of about 8 per cent in brick prices last year, and more increases forecast for this year, prices remain well below the peak £190 per thousand makers were achieving in 1989.

Since then, however, capacity has fallen by a quarter, with the loss of more than 500 jobs, and last year brick plants were working at full capacity.

1996 – Ibstock purchases Redland Brick Ltd for £155 million, comprising of the former Redland and Steetley Brick businesses.

1996 – In spring of 1996 Ibstock announced plans to acquire the brick operations of building materials company Redland for £160 million. The deal, which involved 17 brick factories, four stone products facilities, and clay reserves to last 35 years, had the potential to catapult Ibstock into the lead in the U.K. brick market, with a market share of about 35 per cent and the capacity to produce 1.3 billion bricks annually. The company’s market share was knocked down, however, by the Office of Fair Trading, which asked Ibstock to sell or close factories that produced four per cent of the market demand, amounting to about eight factories, in order to avoid a referral to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. Still, Ibstock was able to maintain a market share of about 31 per cent, placing it on equal footing with Hanson. Though Ibstock became a market leader with its purchase of Redland’s brick facilities, the company continued to face difficult times …

01/02/2000 – Planning application by Ibstock Scottish Brick Ltd, Old Edinburgh Road, Uddingston for the removal of a clay stockpile at Mossband Farm, Nr Newhouse. (Note – SBH – See link for the full details but some relevant points are copied below)

General
(a) The previous site operator (Cochrane Mining Lanarkshire Ltd) went into administration in September 1998 and the site was dormant for around 6 months.
(b) The site was taken over by Lothian Mining Ltd in spring 1999.
(c) Lothian Mining have continued to operate beyond the December 1999 time limit for the site operations. They have given an undertaking to stop extraction works at the end of April and
appropriate powers have been authorised by the Council to ensure that this is adhered to.

COMMENTS This application relates to the removal of 500,000 tonnes of fireclay from an 1 1 .0 acre (4.4 hectares) site at the Mossband Farm opencast site near Newhouse. The clay is stored above ground in a recently created stockpile using material gained from the adjoining opencast site. This would be removed over a ten year period and used for brick making at the Ibstock factory at Tannochside, giving the factory a consistency and guarantee of supplies. Whilst I do not have any objections to the principle of this development, I do have concerns regarding the proposed
ten-year timescale, which on top of the nine-year lifespan of the opencast operations is considered to be an unacceptable burden on the amenity of the area and the enjoyment of nearby residential properties. Initially, five years would appear to be more acceptable, with the prospect of a further five years if the applicant can demonstrate that the operation has been carried out with no serious harm to the environment. The applicant has made strong representations against the imposition of a five-year permission stating that this would not give them the confidence
to carry out a proposed long-term investment programme at the Tannochside factory. Rather than refusing planning permission for the reason of the excessive timescale, I would recommend that permission is granted subject to a condition restricting it to five years. If the Council are of a mind to grant planning permission, consent would not be issued until a Bond of Caution to an appropriate value had been delivered, guaranteeing the long-term restoration of the site. Full details of the proposed development including a discussion on the proposed timescale of the
operation can be found within the attached report.
Recommendation- Grant, subject to the following conditions:-
1.That the operations relating to the removal of the clay stockpile shall be commenced within 1 year of the date of this permission, and the applicant shall give the Planning Authority at least 7
days notice of their intention to commence works.
Reason: In order that the Planning Authority might make appropriate arrangements to monitor the operations and to take account of changing circumstances.
2.That all operations relating to the removal of clay from the site shall cease within 5 years from the date of commencement of the development, the date of which shall be notified to the
Planning Authority, under the terms of condition no.1 above or failing that as determined by the Planning Authority.
Reason: To define the permission, to protect the amenity of the surrounding area and to safeguard the enjoyment of local residents and communities.

02/04/2004 – Dissolved – Ibstock Scottish Brick Ltd, Tannochside Works Old Edin. Rd., Uddingston, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, G71 6HL.

21/02/2008 – Daily Record … Carscallan Quarry was acquired by Ibstock Scottish Brick two years ago. Clay from the site goes to the company’s Tannochside factory where 65 staff are employed …

Below – Info from Andrew Gemmell