Hanson re-open factory for three month trial

The Hanson Building Products factory in Accrington is re-opening for three months on a trial basis.

The factory, which makes the super-strong Nori brick, has re-employed eight former workers to join the seven-strong skeletal staff overseeing stocks since the plant closed in September.

Production is likely to be at 20% capacity and will start in August, with a review of its performance in November.

However, while there is enough interest in the Nori brick – used in the foundations of the Empire State Building and the Blackpool Tower – the factory would need firm orders and high numbers to open in the long-term.

Hanson spokesman David Weeks told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph: “We have a large number of bricks still in stock and we need a large scale and permanent interest in the product.

“The Nori brick is a very unusual product and we know there is sufficient interest in the industry nationally to sustain three months production.”

Meanwhile, a local councillor is calling upon the council and its contractors to use Nori bricks on new developments in the region on the grounds that use of a local brick product would safeguard jobs and take thousands of lorries off the road.