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work on the new plant is scheduled to begin soon. Jeff
Schrock is named Superintendent for Plant 2 and Bill
Swinderman, Jr. will replace Jeff as Superintendent
at Plant 4. Plant 2 will manufacture brick seven days
a week, operating 10 hours per day. Their schedule is
a total departure from the 5 day per week schedule observed
at all other Belden facilities.
During 1999, as work progresses on the construction
of Plant 2, Redland Brick Inc. begins to study the feasibility
of a new plant at the Harmar site. By year’s end,
Plant 2 is on schedule to start production the end of
the first quarter of 2000 and the Board of Directors
approves the authorization by Redland Brick’s
board to construct a new plant at the Harmar location
outside of Pittsburgh. Boral Bricks offers to sell its
Rocky Ridge (Maryland) plant to Redland Brick Inc. Belden
Brick Sales & Service Inc. (formerly Belden-Stark
Brick Company of New York) is authorized by the Board
to acquire the assets of the Atlantic Brick Corporation
of Saddle Brook, New Jersey.
During the year 2000, Redland Brick
Inc. acquired the Rocky Ridge (Md) plant from Boral
Bricks and the new Harmar plant was approved with a
capacity of 60 million brick equivalents annually compared
to the 24 million b.e. capacity of the existing facility
at the Harmar site. The Sugarcreek Plant 2 kiln was
lit in April 2000. Later in the year, The Belden Brick
Company was inducted in the Family Business Hall of
Fame at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Julia Belden, daughter of Robert F. Belden, was hired
by Belden Brick Sales & Service Inc. of New York
as an architectural sales representative in Manhattan.
In 2001, Dee Engelbach announces his
intention to retire in the fourth quarter. Jim Leahy
is named Treasurer. John C. Belden is named Vice President
– Sales & Marketing. At Redland Brick Inc.,
the Harmar Plant project is right on schedule. Belden
Brick achieves certification under the new ISO 9001:2000
standard effective September 17, 2001.
In February of 2002, Robert T. Belden,
son of Robert F. Belden, becomes the second fifth-generation
Belden to join the Company. Bob T is assigned the position
of Assistant to the Vice-President of Production, Larry
Myers.
A third member of the fifth-generation of the Belden
family, Bradley S. Belden, joins the Company on April
1, 2004. Brad is the son of John C. Belden and is hired
as a Regulatory Affairs Specialist working with government
agencies such as EPA and OSHA and working in the field
of the environment, health and safety. Later in 2004,
Redland Brick Inc. seeks authorization to modernize
the Rocky Ridge Plant. The Belden Brick Board grants
the authorization and Swindell Dressler is hired to
execute the modernization plan.
Record high prices for natural gas characterize the
middle years of the decade. The Company continues to
drill new gas wells as it has every year since 1973.
The latest wells drilled are generally in the Beekmantown
and Rose Run formations. The total number of wells successfully
drilled since the program’s inception in 1973
reaches 194 in 2006. These wells only produce enough
gas to meet approximately 10% of the Company’s
needs.
In 2005, Bettie Rairigh, Administrative
Assistant to Bill and Bob Belden, retires after 59 years
of service, matching Burke Wentz’s longevity as
a Belden Brick employee. Bettie was hired in 1946 by
Paul B. Belden, Sr. and served four generations of Belden
family members. Belden Brick and Redland Brick form
Redland Siding Systems LLC, a 50/50 joint venture that
will be licensed to manufacture and distribute thin
brick systems in North America. In November, Larry Myers dies suddenly six months
before his planned retirement. Robert T. Belden is named
to succeed Larry as Vice President of Operations.The
Company has invested heavily in technology over the
past decade. Plant 2 is a state-of-the-art, 21st century
production facility, and the advent of the Internet
has brought about technological change throughout the
Company.
The Company has continued to provide leadership in
the industry as it has done since the earliest days
under Paul Belden, Sr. He was instrumental in the founding
of the American Face Brick Association in 1912. He served
three terms (1915, 1920, and 1932) as President. His
son, Paul Jr., was Chairman of The Brick Institute of
America (BIA). In 1993-1994, his grandson, Bill, Jr.,
was also chairman of BIA. From 2002-2004, his grandson,
Bob, was chairman of the Brick Industry Association,
which resulted from the merger of the Brick Institute
of America and the National Association of Brick Distributors.
All through these years, the Company and its officers
have been supporters and leaders of the Mid-East Region
of the Brick Institute of America, a regional association
of brick manufacturers, as well as the national association.
John C. Belden, son of Paul B. Belden, Jr., grandson
of Paul B. Belden, Sr., is currently the Chairman of
BIA’s Midwest/Northeastern Region which is comprised
of seventeen states from Illinois to Maine. Both Paul
B. Belden, Sr. and Paul B. Belden, Jr. have been honored
with the industry’s Outstanding Achievement Award.While
this history notes many significant events and individuals
in the story of The Belden Brick Company, it could not
mention everything or everyone who contributed to the
success of Belden Brick since 1885. Many families, in
addition to the Beldens and the Hartungs, have been
instrumental in making Belden Brick the Standard of
Comparison in its industry – families like the
Swindermans, the Schrocks, the Myers, and the Finzers.
Brickmaking was and is in their blood and their members
take pride in their craft. The Belden Brick Company
has been fortunate to have had so many dedicated, loyal
employees throughout its history whose commitment to
excellence has been unwavering.
The 21st century will present its own set of
challenges for The Belden Brick Company. We believe
that we have positioned ourselves to meet those challenges
by continuously reinvesting in our physical plant, by
keeping up with information technology advances that
make our people and our machinery more productive, and
by developing a strong leadership team committed to
maintaining the values and traditions of Belden Brick
while being eminently capable of maneuvering in the
modern, fast-paced economy in which they will operate.
We look to the future with optimism, confidence, and
hope.
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