General Shale
Corporate brand
UnclaimedGeneral Shale is a United States manufacturer of brick, masonry, stone, tile, pipe, and related architectural building products, operating as the North American subsidiary of wienerberger.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
General Shale Brick, Inc. is an American building-materials manufacturer whose principal activities center on clay brick, concrete and masonry products, architectural stone, tile, PVC pipe, and related construction solutions. The company is the North American subsidiary of wienerberger AG, an Austrian building-materials group and a major international brick producer. General Shale serves residential, commercial, institutional, and landscape construction markets through a portfolio that has expanded well beyond its original brick-making business. The company was created on September 1, 1928, through the merger of Kingsport Brick Corporation and Johnson City Shale Brick Corporation in Tennessee. Kingsport Brick had been established in 1910 and had built a substantial regional business, but aging facilities and inefficient production weakened its position by the late 1920s. Johnson City Shale Brick, founded in 1920, brought additional labor capacity even though its clay resources were considered less favorable. Sam R. Sells became the first president of the combined enterprise. During its early decades, General Shale expanded through a series of acquisitions across the Appalachian and southeastern United States. These included Oliver Springs Brick Company, Richland Brick Corporation, Bristol Brick Corporation, Jellico Brick and Coal Company, and Knoxville Brick Company. The Great Depression created severe financial pressure: facilities were placed under foreclosure proceedings, agreements with acquired companies were revised, and the company obtained financing from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to continue operating. General Shale diversified into concrete products in 1945 by constructing a plant for concrete blocks. The business became an important and profitable part of the company during the following decade. In the 1950s, the company modernized and expanded its brick production, including construction of a tunnel kiln at its Knoxville factory in 1951. It subsequently acquired Key-James Brick Company, Elizabethton Cinder Block Company, Appalachian Shale Products Company, and Coral Ridge Brick and Tile Company, while adding further tunnel kilns to improve production capacity. The company became publicly traded in 1960. During the 1960s and early 1970s it continued to build a regional and multi-state manufacturing network through purchases such as Southside Brick Works, Huntsville Brick and Tile Company, Standard Brick & Tile Corporation, California Clay Products Company, and several concrete and aggregate businesses. The California operation was abandoned in 1970 after substantial losses. General Shale also acquired Locher Brick Company, Maples Block Company, and lightweight aggregate plants in Arkansas. The energy crisis of the 1970s exposed the company to fuel-supply and kiln-cost pressures. Several plants shifted from natural gas to coal, while other facilities were closed or reduced in scale. Despite these measures, the company recorded what were then record sales in 1978 and acquired Chattahoochee Brick Company. The recession of the early 1980s slowed growth, but General Shale remained profitable by reducing expenses and selling real estate; by the middle of the decade it had recovered much of its business. In 1999, wienerberger acquired General Shale. Under the new ownership, the company broadened its North American building-products platform through further acquisitions. Arriscraft, a producer of cast stone, joined the business in 2007. Pipelife Jet Stream, a PVC pipe manufacturer, was acquired in 2016, followed by Columbus Brick in 2017. The 2021 acquisition of Meridian Brick substantially increased General Shale's United States revenues and scale. In 2024, wienerberger completed the acquisition of French tile producer Terreal, bringing Terreal's North American subsidiary Ludowici Roof Tile under the wider group associated with General Shale. Around the same period, General Shale completed the acquisition of Summitville Tile, an Ohio producer of floor tile and facing brick. The resulting business combines traditional brick manufacturing with masonry, stone, pipe, tile, roofing, and architectural-product capabilities.
History
General Shale originated in the consolidation of two Tennessee brick producers. Kingsport Brick Corporation, founded in 1910, had developed a successful regional operation but faced deteriorating facilities and inefficient production by the end of the 1920s. Johnson City Shale Brick Corporation, established in 1920, had comparatively weaker clay resources but a larger workforce. Their merger on September 1, 1928, created General Shale, with Sam R. Sells serving as the first president. The new company expanded through acquisitions in the surrounding Appalachian region, purchasing Oliver Springs Brick Company, Richland Brick Corporation, Bristol Brick Corporation, Jellico Brick and Coal Company, and Knoxville Brick Company. The Great Depression placed the business under considerable financial stress. The Johnson City plant was temporarily foreclosed, contracts involving acquired businesses were renegotiated, and General Shale obtained a loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to preserve operations. Diversification became an important part of the postwar strategy. In 1945, General Shale built a concrete-block plant, and concrete products developed into a highly profitable business during the next decade. The company then modernized its brick operations. A tunnel kiln was installed at the Knoxville plant in 1951, followed in 1952 by acquisitions of Key-James Brick Company, Elizabethton Cinder Block Company, and Appalachian Shale Products Company. Coral Ridge Brick and Tile Company was acquired soon afterward, and additional tunnel kilns were added at other factories. General Shale became a public company in 1960. Its expansion during the 1960s and early 1970s included Southside Brick Works in Richmond, Huntsville Brick and Tile Company, Standard Brick & Tile Corporation of Evansville, California Clay Products Company, and a number of concrete, aggregate, and related businesses. The California operation was discontinued in 1970 after significant losses. The company later gained control of Locher Brick Company and Maples Block Company and purchased two lightweight-aggregate plants in Arkansas. The energy crisis created new operating challenges because brick kilns required reliable fuel supplies. Several plants converted from gas to coal, while others were closed or downsized. General Shale nevertheless reached record sales by the standards of the period in 1978 and acquired Chattahoochee Brick Company. The recession of the early 1980s restricted expansion, but the company stayed profitable through cost reductions and real-estate sales. By the middle of the decade, its business had substantially recovered. A major ownership change occurred in 1999, when Austrian brick manufacturer wienerberger acquired General Shale. The company continued operating as wienerberger's North American subsidiary and broadened its product base through acquisitions. Arriscraft added cast stone in 2007; Pipelife Jet Stream added PVC-pipe capabilities in 2016; and Columbus Brick strengthened the brick portfolio in 2017. The 2021 Meridian Brick acquisition in Georgia significantly expanded the United States business and was described as doubling General Shale's domestic revenues. The organization's later expansion also reached roofing and tile. Following wienerberger's completion of its Terreal acquisition in 2024, General Shale gained control of Terreal's North American Ludowici Roof Tile subsidiary. Around the same time, General Shale acquired Summitville Tile of Ohio, whose products included floor tile and facing brick. General Shale therefore evolved from a regional clay-brick producer into a diversified North American supplier covering masonry, architectural stone, pipe, tile, roof tile, and associated building products.
- 2024
Terreal and Summitville Tile expand tile and roofing capabilities
[1]Following wienerberger's Terreal transaction, Ludowici Roof Tile came under General Shale's control, while General Shale also completed the acquisition of Summitville Tile.
- 2021
Meridian Brick is acquired
[1]The acquisition of Meridian Brick of Georgia substantially enlarged General Shale's United States business.
- 2017
Columbus Brick is acquired
[1]Columbus Brick became part of General Shale's North American brick operations.
- 2016
Pipelife Jet Stream is acquired
[1]The acquisition added or expanded PVC-pipe manufacturing within the General Shale portfolio.
- 2007
Arriscraft joins the business
[1]General Shale acquired Arriscraft, expanding into cast-stone products.
- 1999
Acquired by wienerberger
[1]wienerberger acquired General Shale, establishing the company as its North American subsidiary.
- 1978
Record sales and Chattahoochee Brick acquisition
[1]General Shale reached record sales for the period and acquired Chattahoochee Brick Company amid energy-market pressures.
- 1960
General Shale becomes publicly traded
[1]The company went public after one of its charter members decided to sell shares.
- 1951
First Knoxville tunnel kiln is built
[1]The company constructed a tunnel kiln at its Knoxville, Tennessee, factory as part of its manufacturing modernization.
- 1945
Concrete-block manufacturing begins
[1]General Shale constructed a factory for concrete blocks, establishing a profitable product area alongside brick.
Products and positioning
A diversified North American masonry and architectural-building-products manufacturer, combining a long-established brick-making heritage with stone, concrete, pipe, tile, roofing, and broader construction solutions under the wienerberger group.
Masonry
Clay brick and facing brick
Brick is General Shale's historic core product category. The company manufactures clay brick and facing brick for exterior walls, residential construction, commercial buildings, institutional projects, and architectural applications. Its brick business developed from a regional Appalachian manufacturing base and was broadened through decades of plant investment and acquisitions.
Masonry · 1945
Concrete blocks and masonry products
General Shale expanded into concrete-block manufacturing in 1945. Concrete products became an important and profitable part of the business during the postwar period. The broader masonry portfolio supports structural, landscape, and architectural construction applications alongside clay brick.
Architectural stone · 2007
Arriscraft cast stone
Arriscraft represents General Shale's cast-stone and architectural-stone capability. The business joined General Shale through a 2007 acquisition and broadened the company from traditional fired-clay products into manufactured stone products used in building exteriors and other architectural settings.
Infrastructure products · 2016
PVC pipe
PVC pipe became part of General Shale's portfolio through the 2016 purchase of Pipelife Jet Stream. This product area extended the company's activities beyond masonry and architectural surfaces into pipe and infrastructure-related building applications.
Tile · 2024
Floor tile and architectural tile
Tile products entered the expanded General Shale organization through the Summitville Tile transaction and through the wider wienerberger relationship with Terreal. Summitville's portfolio includes floor tile and facing brick, adding ceramic and architectural-surface products to the company's established masonry range.
Roofing · 2024
Ludowici roof tile
Ludowici Roof Tile is the North American Terreal subsidiary that came under General Shale's control following wienerberger's completion of the Terreal acquisition in 2024. It gives the North American organization a presence in roof-tile products in addition to wall brick and architectural masonry.
Construction materials
Lightweight aggregate
General Shale acquired two lightweight-aggregate plants in Arkansas during its expansion in the early 1970s. The category illustrates the company's historical diversification into materials used alongside brick, block, and concrete construction.
Brand decisions
2024
Expand into roof tile and floor tileM&ABackground
The wienerberger group expanded its tile platform through Terreal, while General Shale also pursued additional American tile capacity.
Action taken
Ludowici Roof Tile came under General Shale's control through the Terreal transaction, and General Shale completed the purchase of Summitville Tile.
Aftermath
The organization gained broader exposure to roof tile, floor tile, and facing brick alongside its established masonry and architectural-products businesses.
2021
Acquire Meridian BrickM&ABackground
General Shale pursued greater scale in the United States brick market.
Action taken
The company purchased Meridian Brick of Georgia.
Aftermath
The transaction substantially enlarged the domestic business and was described as doubling General Shale's United States revenues.
1999
Join the wienerberger groupM&ABackground
wienerberger, a major Austrian brick manufacturer, sought to expand its international building-products presence.
Action taken
wienerberger acquired General Shale.
Aftermath
General Shale continued as wienerberger's North American subsidiary and later expanded into cast stone, pipe, tile, roofing, and additional brick businesses.
1970
Exit the California operationStrategyBackground
The California Clay Products operation generated significant losses after its acquisition.
Action taken
General Shale abandoned the California operation.
Aftermath
The move limited further exposure to an underperforming regional operation while the company continued concentrating on other businesses.
1970
Adapt kiln fuel during the energy crisisStrategyBackground
The energy crisis made fuel for brick kilns more difficult to source and increased manufacturing pressure.
Action taken
Several General Shale plants switched from gas to coal, while other facilities were closed or downsized.
Aftermath
The company reduced its production footprint but reached record sales in 1978 before confronting the recession of the early 1980s.
1960
Become a public companyStrategyBackground
One of General Shale's charter members decided to sell shares, creating the occasion for a public offering.
Action taken
General Shale went public.
Aftermath
Public ownership supported the company's subsequent multi-state acquisition and expansion program.
1945
Diversify into concrete blocksStrategyBackground
General Shale sought to broaden its manufacturing base beyond clay brick in the postwar construction market.
Action taken
The company built a concrete-block factory.
Aftermath
Concrete-block production became highly profitable over the following decade and remained part of the company's broader masonry identity.
1928
Merge Kingsport Brick and Johnson City Shale BrickM&ABackground
The two Tennessee brick companies had complementary weaknesses and resources: Kingsport had an established business but aging facilities, while Johnson City had a larger workforce.
Action taken
The companies merged on September 1, 1928, creating General Shale.
Aftermath
The merger established the corporate platform that later expanded across brick, concrete, stone, pipe, tile, and related building products.
Recent events
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