Meridian Brick today: products and EPD coverage

Where “Meridian Brick” sits in 2025

Meridian Brick’s North American assets were acquired in 2021, with divestitures that placed U.S. operations largely with General Shale and a related brand network, and Canadian operations under Canada Brick. That restructuring followed a U.S. Department of Justice settlement to preserve competition (U.S. DOJ, 2021) (U.S. DOJ, 2021). Practically, many familiar Meridian‑labeled products now appear on Red River Brick and General Shale channels.

Product lineup at a glance

The portfolio remains a clay masonry pure play. Expect face brick for veneer walls, thin brick for lightweight cladding, and regional clay pavers. Texture, size, and color drive choice rather than radically different chemistries. Across plants and collections, the catalog runs to the hundreds of SKUs, not dozens, once colors, sizes, and finishes are counted.

A quick scan of where to find them

General Shale lists brick, thin brick and hardscape families across its site, with a dedicated sustainability section that signals group‑level priorities (General Shale Sustainability). Red River Brick storefronts highlight plant collections in Texas and Oklahoma that echo historic Meridian lines, pointing specifiers to request test reports or LEED information when needed.

EPD coverage, in plain English

Clay brick is covered by an industry‑wide EPD developed by the Brick Industry Association. The most recent public release we can locate is the U.S.–Canada industrywide EPD published in 2020, which represented a sizable share of production and listed General Shale and Meridian among participating manufacturers (Brick Industry Association, 2020) (Brick Industry Association, 2020). That document helps project teams meet material transparency requirements. What it does not do is differentiate one maker’s plant or product from another in performance terms.

We did not find evidence of broad, product‑specific clay brick EPDs posted for the current Red River Brick or Canada Brick catalogs at the time of writing. That suggests coverage today is mainly through the industry‑wide declaration, with limited product‑specific visibility across individual face brick lines. If internal documents exist, they’re not obvious to the market.

Why that gap matters on bids

LEED v5, ratified by USGBC members on March 28, 2025, keeps EPDs central in the materials conversation and pushes harder on embodied‑carbon decision making (USGBC, 2025) (USGBC, 2025). On owner policies and many public tenders, teams often prefer product‑specific, externally verified EPDs because they simplify accounting and avoid conservative default factors. When two bricks look the same, the one with a product‑specific EPD can be the easier checkbox.

A concrete example of lost ground

Consider a flagship clay face brick from the legacy Meridian footprint with no visible product‑specific EPD. A competing spec could pivot to a look‑alike concrete brick with current, product‑specific EPDs published under the ASTM program, which are easy for design teams to reference (ASTM, 2024). Even if the aesthetic aligns, that shift moves revenue out of clay and out of brand. It’s a quiet leak in the funnel that sales doesn’t always see until it’s too late.

Who Meridian regularly meets in the ring

On clay masonry, the usual cast includes Glen‑Gery, Acme Brick, Belden, Cherokee Brick, Pine Hall, Brampton Brick, and regional specialists. In day‑to‑day specifications for schools, healthcare, and mixed‑use, substitutes can also come from concrete unit masonry and concrete brick when price or paperwork tilts the table.

What a high‑leverage EPD plan looks like

• Start with a tight LCA data pull by plant and kiln line, then group families with similar processes. That keeps verification efficient.
• Align PCR choice with the rulebook competitors use in clay masonry. Consistency reduces reviewer friction and keeps comparisons fair.
• Sequence product‑specific EPDs by sales impact and substitution risk. Thin brick and top‑volume face brick colors are usually first.
• Publish with a mainstream operator so design teams can find the PDFs fast. Speed and ease matter more than we sometimes admit.

Signals to the market while you build

If a full set of product‑specific EPDs will take time, communicate the industry‑wide EPD clearly and publish a public roadmap for plant‑specific studies. Use the sustainability hub to show progress and dates. Even a clear “coming this quarter” note reduces friction. Don’t over‑promise or it will backfire.

What we’d watch next

• Any refresh of the industry‑wide clay brick EPD and its participant list, which would update background coverage for the brand family (Brick Industry Association, 2020).
• LEED v5 addenda and credit guidance that further reward product‑specific environmental data in materials credits (USGBC, 2025). Small language shifts can change bid math.

Bottom line for specability

Meridian Brick’s products, now under General Shale’s network, cover the classic clay masonry use cases with breadth and depth. EPD coverage appears to lean on the industry‑wide declaration today, which is good but not great for competitive storytelling. A focused run of plant‑ or product‑specific EPDs on the highest‑velocity lines would adress the paperwork barrier that quietly reroutes specs to competitors.