FORTERRA PLC, one of the UK’s largest brick manufacturers in the UK confirmed in 2019 its intentioned to take a very significant step forward with the UK construction sector in mind, investing £95M in a new super plant at its Desford site in Leicestershire. In order to keep current production levels during construction, the existing plant will be kept operational while the new one is built alonside. The current plant output is 85M bricks per year, and the new plant will be capable of producing 180M bricks per year.

Bedeschi, based in Padova, Italy, and operating worldwide since 1908, feels honoured and proud to be chosen by Forterra for such an important turnkey project, confirming once again its leading position in the marketplace, being able to offer a fully integrated in-house solution from clay preparation, shapping, drying, firing, haulage and automation up to the packaging line, all from a single source. Over the next couple of years, without a doubt, both Forterra and Bedeschi Teams will work as one, bringing this project to a successfull conclusion.

To enable a closer presence in the UK Market, Bedeschi UK was formed at the end of last year, adding one more subsidiary to the Group.

The new plant will be the largest and most efficient in Europe, producing 180 million bricks per year and significantly reducing the carbon impact of each brick manufactured on the site compared with the current factory. The bricks produced will be sufficient to build around 24,000 average family homes in the UK annually. The plant will be built using the most advanced technologies, state-of-the-art automation, with particular focus on world class manufacturing techniques and class leading enviromental technologies. The plant is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2022 and will increase the overall production capability of Forterras brick division by 16%.