General Shale Brick, Inc. is an American manufacturer of clay bricks, stone products, masonry solutions, PVC pipes, and architectural building products. General Shale is the North American subsidiary of the Austrian company wienerberger.
History
Early history
The company was formed by a merger of the Kingsport Brick Corporation and Johnson City Shale Brick Corporation on September 1, 1928. Sam R. Sells was the first president of the combined company.[1]
The Kingsport company had been founded in 1910 and was pretty successful in its first decade, but by the late 1920s, it struggled with decaying facilities and inefficient production. The Johnson City company was formed in 1920 and had lower-quality clay than Kingsport, but a larger workforce. In the years following the merger, General Shale acquired the Oliver Springs Brick Company, the Richland Brick Corporation, the Bristol Brick Corporation, the Jellico Brick and Coal Company, and the Knoxville Brick Company.[1]
The company faced financial difficulties during the Great Depression, and the Johnson City factory was temporarily foreclosed.