Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Esk Building Products have reported booming sales of calcium silicate bricks despite overall UK brick production running at its lowest level since 1945.
Calcium silicate bricks are virtually free of soluble salts so efflorescence is not a problem, which means the bricks are appropriate for high quality, decorative and strong external brickwork.
Esk had its best-ever sales month in October, says chief operating officer Murray Treece. “We’ve been opening new customer accounts and improving sales, demonstrating that even in difficult trading conditions you can have positive results with a good product, properly marketed,” he said.
“Calcium silicate bricks are a highly appropriate, eco-friendly product,” Treece says. “Compared to clay bricks they use far less energy and produce no harmful emissions during manufacture. Our bricks are made from sand and lime hardened by exposure to steam.
“Their popularity means we’ve been able to buck market trends,” he continues. “We sell across the market and are not exposed to any one sector. We’ve had very strong sales growth in several markets and for schools and public buildings where the wide choice of colours, especially the light reflective qualities of the light colours, is very popular with specifiers.”
