Feds stipulate asset sale tied to General Shale’s Meridian takeover

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division; CP staff The Justice Department Antitrust Division calls for General Shale Brick and Meridian Brick LLC to divest three plants, 14 showrooms and distribution yards, plus six mines in a proposed settlement of an antitrust lawsuit challenging the producers’ merger. The agency filed the settlement and suit-triggering complaint in the U.S. District Court…

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Illinois Brick plumbs Brickworks’ Midwest vertical integration

Sources: Brickworks Ltd., New South Wales, Australia; Brickworks North America Corp., Wyomissing, Pa.; CP staff Brickworks, the ambitious Australian operator building a North American platform from a 2018 deal for Pennsylvania’s Glen-Gery Corp., will strengthen its Great Lakes region production and distribution footprint by acquiring certain assets of Palos Hill, Ill.-based Southfield Corp. At the heart of the $51 million…

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Urban center harbors first Brickworks North American Design Studio

grand opening North American Brickworks Design Studio

Source: Brickworks North America Corp., Wyomissing, Pa. The parent company of brick specialist Glen-Gery Corp. has opened its first design studio this side of the Pacific, offering the Philadelphia architectural and design community an experience to collaborate on projects, select from a broad portfolio of high-end, stylish clay masonry units, and host industry or networking events. The facility joins six…

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ASTM C15 pens standard for alternative material-molded masonry units

Sources: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.; CP staff

ASTM Committee C15 on Manufactured Masonry Units will soon publish C1825, providing guidelines for block and brick made from materials not currently addressed by existing Society standards. The new standard responds to unit masonry producers’ move to look beyond concrete, clay, shale, sand-lime and calcium silicates for alternative materials.

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Brick stacks up well against veneer stone, fiber cement in home exterior study

The Brick Industry Association has examined seven common home exterior products, finding that fired-clay brick costs about half as much as manufactured stone, and just a third more than fiber cement siding before considering lifetime maintenance costs. An updated BIA study, developed by RSMeans, compares the installed cost of total house construction for brick veneer over wood framing with the cost of adhered manufactured stone, stucco, wood shingle, plus vinyl, fiber cement or horizontal wood siding alternatives.

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