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Maine Brickmaker to Fire Kilns with Gas

11/1/2000

LCG, Nov. 1, 2000--Maine Natural Gas Co. said yesterday it had signed a multi-year contract to provide gas to the Lachance Division of Morin Brick Co. The natural gas will fire 24-hour-a-day kilns at the brickmaking facility in Gorham, Maine.

Making bricks out of gobs of moist clay takes a lot of heat, and Tim Kelley, president of Maine Gas, was happy to announce the Lachance contract so soon after lining up a Calpine 540 megawatt power plant and the University of Southern Maine. "It shows that natural gas is a very viable energy option for a variety of business needs in Maine," he said.

Maine Gas will begin immediately to build a 1-mile distribution main to serve the brickmaker. The pipeline is projected to be completed by the end of the year and Lachance will switch over to natural gas by next March 1.

Peter Lachance, president of the brickmaker, commented "Our operation is very energy intensive, and after careful review, we realized that conversion to natural gas was the best choice."