About Us

110 YEARS OF SOLID STONE

There are not many companies in Estonia, the history of which would involve different political regimes, two World Wars, the War for Independence and several generations, moving from one century to the other.  AS Silikaat is such a company with very dignified history.

In 1880, the German chemist Dr Wilhelm Michaelis developed the technology for producing silicate bricks at high pressure in an autoclave. 19 years later the technology had arrived to Estonia – in the spring of 1899, businessman Martin Böckler bought a lot of 76 500 m² to build a factory in Tallinn, at the location of the modern Järve Keskus. There was plenty of the main raw component of silicate bricks – sand – here and also enough of the other essential raw material – there were several lime factories nearby. The recession however caused Böckler’s plans to fail and the new factory never made it to production.

By 1910, the economic situation had become stabile and the factory had switched owners.  The production of silicate bricks in Estonia did actually begin in 1910, when the factory had a new owner, Oskar Amber, whose silicate brick factory O.Amber & Ko began operating in Tallinn.

The factory did good and produced 2.5 – 3 million bricks a year while employing 15 workers.  There was enough demand for the stones. Peter the Great’s naval fortress was being constructed and its many special function constructions required large quantities of silicate bricks; also shipyards and the naval port – the Russian army became one of the main customers of Amberg’s factory.  The Estonia theatre building built of silicate bricks was completed in 1913.  Factory owner Oskar Amberg also belonged to the board of the company of Estonia.

The factory suspended its operations in the whirlwind of the First World War in 1916. But in 1923 the factory reopened under the name of private limited company Silikat.  In the 1930s, the factory had more than 40 employees and produced more than 7.5 million silicate bricks per year.

Before and after the World War, many persons with important roles in the history of Estonia have been involved in the factory.  The factory’s owner Oskar Amberg was, in addition to being a member of Estonia’s board, also a member of the parliament and held three minister positions – the Minister of Work and Social Welfare, the Minister of Roads and the Minister of War.  The technical director of the factory reopened in 1923 was one of its shareholders – Leopold Tõnson, a recipient of the Cross of Liberty, former of national military units and the head of the Kalevalased division of the Defence League. He was also a known Estonian sportsman, rower, light athlete and founder of the sports club Kalev. Also another major shareholder of Silikat is worth mentioning – philanthropist Karl Kaddak who was the owner of the largest lime factory in the Baltics located at Rakke and one of the richest people of Estonia at the time.

Silikat was nationalised in 1940 and joined with the public limited company Silikaatkivitehas Kvarts that had begun production in Männiku in 1937. During its most productive times, the factory worked in three shifts and most of the goods were directly sent to other Soviet states via the railway that begun from the doors of the factory.

There were great developments in the 1950s – technologies were improved, production expanded and factories reconstructed. Extracting sand at the Männiku quarry began in 1953 and the new construction materials’ factory was opened in 1958. Now the annual production reached 150 million silicate bricks. Also the production of silicate blocks was being tested.

The 1960s and 1970s were spent opening new production lines. The factory begun making bitumen and plaster partition plates. A PVC line was opened and it was the first and only flooring production unit in Estonia at the time. In 1973 the Männiku and Silikaat factories were joined into one production cooperative, which formed a large company with 1800 workers. The main product was still silicate bricks.

Estonia regaining its independence marked the end of socialist large manufacturing – the production cooperative Silikaat became a state company. It was privatised in 1995 by entrepreneur Vello Kunman and the production of traditional silicate stone and the company’s dignified history was continued under the name AS Silikaat.

In the 1930s, the factory had more than 40 employees and produced more than 7.5 million silicate bricks per year.

After the factory was nationalised in 1940, most of the production moved directly to other USSR states via railways, the tracks of which began at the door of the factory.

Mining sand at the Männiku quarry began in 1953.

Transport of main raw materials in the 1950s.

View of the factory in the 1950s.

The increase in construction volumes caused by the industrialisation in the 19th century gave rise to a search for alternative construction materials. The first attempts to air-dry a mixture of sand, lime and water to create a uniform stone mass did not give a good result as the long drying period meant that the stone was not strong enough.

An important development was achieved in 1854 by German physicist Dr Bernhard with a wooden press of air-dried lime bricks. German chemist Dr Wilhelm Michaelis improved this method in 1880 and the technology to produce silicate bricks in a high pressure autoclave.