Industrial Brick Production VIII – Transmission Belts and Press

Brick production was of great importance in the Lippe area in Germany. The Brick Factory Beerman in Sylbach was one of the many production sites in the area. Opened in 1909 the factory did not introduce machines for industrial brick production until 1922. However, after the factory had changed from coal to oil as energy source, oil prices went up within the oil crisis. The factory had to close in 1979.
By 2001 the former factory has been bought, restored and turned into a museum by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen Lippe. Today the historic machines of the brick factory Beermann are running once more. The industrial process of making bricks can be explored during special presentations at the museum. These presentations include all processes within industrial brick production – from clay mining and transport over rolling and pressing to drying of the blanks and firing. This recording was made during such a public presentation of industrial brick production.
The transmission belts that transmit the power from the engine to the other machines of the factory as well as the clay press are located on the ground floor of the factory. In this recording you can hear the whirring of the transmission belts, the distant rumble of the edge runner from above and some metallic noises of the clay press. The clay press functions like a large grinder for making spritz biscuits – the clay is pressed through a brick-shaped opening at the end.

Sound: Lukas Rabl (The University of Applied Sciences Dortmund)
Photo/Video: Kathinka Engels