Our Upcycling Brand
– recycling raw materials
We have developed a clinker brick that is solely comprised of raw materials collected from waste from previous production processes: our “Upcycling Brand”. This brick is a fitting tribute to our valuable raw material and helps to preserve the natural resources provided by nature.
When it comes to manufacturing our bricks, we extract an extremely wide variety of clays from pits located throughout Germany. Each region is home to different soils that have been strongly influenced by the architecture and settlement history of the local surroundings.
Clays from the Münsterland region take on a red colour after being fired, which is particularly prominent in the local old half-timbered houses.
In the Westerwald mountains, on the other hand, lighter clay types are more commonly found. Due to these variations, the buildings in each region of Germany have their own special colour characteristics.
In our range, we offer bricks in a variety of colours and therefore process a multitude of different types of clay. Each of our production processes is based on a special formulation tailored to suit the different soils used. Transforming the soils extracted into a material ready to be fired involves a number of production stages.
Once the clay mass has been processed to such an extent that it can be moulded into bricks, it goes through the so-called extruder, which compacts the material.
When the production line is switched to another colour, the different clays are initially mixed in the extruder.
In the past, the resulting colour mixture was no longer suitable for regular production and therefore had to be disposed of.
We have always considered this to be an unnecessary waste of a good product, especially given that this mixture of materials meets the highest quality standards with no exceptions whatsoever and has already been through the entire production process.
Here at Hagemeister, we are therefore particularly pleased to announce that we have now put an end to this waste of valuable material: each edition of our Upcycling Brand is manufactured using precisely those raw materials that were previously just thrown away. This approach not only enables us to recognise the value of these natural resources but also eliminates further transportation requirements, for example for extracting fresh clay from pits.
A characteristic that was considered to be a disadvantage for a long time, namely the irregular colouration of the clay mass, has now been transformed into the biggest strength of our Upcycling Brand.
Each edition of the Upcycling Brand is truly one of a kind – there is no other brick like it in the world. Why? Because the variation in the raw materials processed means that unlike conventional bricks, our upcycled versions are not based on a precise formulation repeated time and time again.
But how can we fire such a unique material without comprising its quality? The answer to this question was provided by our in-house laboratory.
We have developed a number of tests and analyses that enable us to create a processing formulation especially for each edition of our Upcycling Brand to produce a high-quality and durable brick – with no compromise whatsoever.
We can also take a material sample and fire this as a prior test to gain a reference as to the future colour of the final brick, the ‘natural colour’. As always, other parameters such as the format, surface texture and holes of the finished brick are individually coordinated with the customer. In terms of both its production and appearance, our Upcycling Brand is truly unique – just like the people who choose to support a greener future by using such a material.