Boral Bricks Inc. announced that its Terre Haute, Ind., manufacturing facility has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

“We are very proud to be LEED Gold,” said Bob Kepford, Boral Bricks’ president. “It adds credibility to the important work we’re doing to ensure our manufacturing facility, processes and products are sustainable and have little impact on the environment.”

The 295,000-sq-ftTerre Haute facility opened in March 2008 as reportedly the largest brick plant in the U. S. It can produce approximately 120 million brick per year-enough to build more than 8300 all-brick homes. The plant features robotic setting and packaging, as well as an advanced firing process. The kiln is 530 ft long by 33 ft wide and operates at 2000°F. It can accommodate 27 cars that weigh approximately 57 tons each when loaded with brick. A batch of brick can be stacked, fired and cooled in less than 30 hours.

The facility is also reportedly one of the most energy efficient brick manufacturing facilities in the country. Boral Bricks partnered with Republic Services, owners of the nearby “Victory” landfill to use methane gas from the landfill as a substitute for natural gas. The facility is also a zero-waste plant; nearly all materials used in the process are recycled in new batches.

Additional sustainability is achieved by reclaiming shale from a nearby coal mining property for use in the manufacturing process. The plant also features premium efficiency motors, sensors and timers for minimal light usage.

For more information, call (800) 5-BORAL-5 or visit www.boralbricks.com.