Masonry Magazine February 1971 Page. 21
82 VARIETIES OF BRICK
One brick looks pretty much like the next, right? Wrong. Today's architects, engineers, builders, and property owners are now ordering many varieties of custom-made brick in large quantities. This new market inspired Belden Brick Company to build its multi-million dollar Plant 8 at Sugarcreek, Ohio, 25 miles southwest of the firm's headquarters in Canton.
Using three new natural gas tunnel kilns to precisely control such critical factors as color, appearance, size, and physical quality, Belden's new plant produced at least 82 different varieties of brick during its first year of operation. Total production rate for all varieties is 1.5 million brick per average week.
Brick can be made in thousands of possible combinations of size, colors, textures and other factors. Load-bearing ability, compressive strength, moisture absorption, weathering resistance these and many other qualities are extremely important to Belden's customers, reports plant manager Garrison F. Finzer. He emphasizes that plant capability includes manufacture of brick to individual customer specifications, as well as production of stock or standard items.
Belden's Plant 8 comprises some 11 acres under roof, on the 35-acre site adjoining State Highway 39, about ten miles west of Dover, in Tuscarawas County. At present, manufacturing operations occupy about 60 percent of total plant space; indoor storage facilities (30 million brick capacity) take up the remainder.
The new plant's design and equipment give it a production capacity of 300,000 brick/day; operating for five days at this rate will produce enough brick to fill the three 417 ft. long by 10 ft. square (cross section) gas-fired tunnel kilns for a 7-day production cycle. All firing in the tunnel kilns is automated, with controls centralized in a one-man console, so that it takes only one operator to run the entire firing process. Firing volume of each kiln averages 80,000 brick per 24-hour day. Mr. Finzer points out that producing this volume by conventional methods, using periodic kilns fired by solid fuels, would require a crew of 20 men, most of them assigned to transporting and handling coal, and removal of ashes.
Electronically automated zone controls regulating firing rate and gas-air mixture throughout the curing process make it possible to hold temperatures within 2.5°F. of the exact level specified, points out the plant manager.
All firing in the tunnel kilns is automated, with controls centralized in this one-man console, so that it takes only one operator to run the entire firing process.
masonry
• February, 1971
21