July 6, 2010---Started our day with a guided tour of Thin Brick by Owensboro facility located on Ewing Road not far from the Ohio River. Met Patrick Richard on the trip to French Island on Jim Henry's boat. Patrick invited us to see the plant. It is the oldest production 
company operating in Owensboro, KY. This is a family owned business and it really shows that Patrick is proud to be one of the family members.
Patrick explained the process.
Local clay shale is hauled in and crushed. It goes through several screens until it is fine as talcum powder.
This fine clay powder is then fed through the silo onto the conveyor system.
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When the clay reaches the wetting station it has to be carefully monitored to add just the right amount of water. It is then vaccum pressed into a dense pad that is finally pressed into brick. A machine makes the brick shape.
The brick is then handled by a stacking machine that loads pallets of 20,000 bricks per car. These pallet cars move on tracks that take the stacks of bricks into the dryers.
In the control room Patrick explained how important it is to dry the bricks at the correct temperature to maintain proper integrity. There are various alarms that sound if the right parameters are not met.
Finished products are moved out of the facility and stored in the yard.
Stacks of bricks in the yard. An inventory between 3 and 5 million bricks is maintained.
In addition to regular bricks a thin brick is also produced for specialty projects.
They ship bricks all over the United States and several foreign countries. Be sure to call Patrick at 270-926-3330 for your brick needs. E-mail him at: patrick@thinbrickbyowensboro.com
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When the clay reaches the wetting station it has to be carefully monitored to add just the right amount of water. It is then vaccum pressed into a dense pad that is finally pressed into brick. A machine makes the brick shape.
The brick is then handled by a stacking machine that loads pallets of 20,000 bricks per car. These pallet cars move on tracks that take the stacks of bricks into the dryers.
In the control room Patrick explained how important it is to dry the bricks at the correct temperature to maintain proper integrity. There are various alarms that sound if the right parameters are not met.
Finished products are moved out of the facility and stored in the yard.About 100,000 bricks are made in 8 hour production days.
From each batch of bricks some are taken as samples and made into a wall for final inspection. Various colors can be seen here.
Stacks of bricks in the yard. An inventory between 3 and 5 million bricks is maintained.
In addition to regular bricks a thin brick is also produced for specialty projects.
They ship bricks all over the United States and several foreign countries. Be sure to call Patrick at 270-926-3330 for your brick needs. E-mail him at: patrick@thinbrickbyowensboro.com
Take a look at their web site: http://www.thinbrickbyowensboro.com/
As VP Sales he says no project is too large or small.
We certainly enjoyed the plant tour. Thanks Patrick!
The short videos below give some idea of equipment in motion.
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