Ziegelwerk

A Ziegelwerk, or brickworks, is an industrial facility where bricks are manufactured from clay and other ceramic materials. Typical bricks are made by shaping plastic clay into uniform units, drying them, and firing them in a kiln. The term is common in German-speaking regions, but similar facilities exist worldwide under various names.

Raw materials are extracted from clay pits or shales. The material is processed, blended for plasticity, and formed by extrusion (for standard bricks) or by moulding and pressing (for solid or special bricks). After shaping, bricks are dried to reduce moisture and prevent cracking, then fired in kilns at high temperature. In modern plants, continuous tunnel or Hoffmann kilns and automated handling are used, with controlled temperature, atmosphere, and quality testing.

Products include common bricks, facing or ornamental bricks, engineering bricks, perforated and hollow bricks, insulating bricks, and special shapes. Brickworks also produce bricks with various surface textures, colors, and dimensions, and may supply ancillary products such as pavers, blocks, and lintels.

Historically, brickmaking is an ancient craft that became industrialized in the 18th and 19th centuries, with Germany and other European countries developing large brickworks powered by coal and driven by mechanization. Brickworks have adapted to stringent building codes and environmental standards over time.

Today, brickworks play a role in sustainable construction through energy-efficient kilns, heat recovery, recycling of process waste, and the reuse of salvaged bricks. The term Ziegelwerk can refer to single-family workshops as well as large industrial complexes.