AUBURN – A major expansion project at Morin Brick Co. will bring state-of-the-art robotic capabilities to the plant later this year.

Construction of the $6.7 million project should begin by the end of August and be finished by April of 2005. First, it must receive Auburn City Council approval for an Industrial Revenue Bond at a public hearing Monday July 12.

Norm Davis, treasurer of Morin Brick, said a 30,000-square-foot structure will be built and a 10,000-square-foot addition will expand the existing plant. The present facility, located at 3600 Old Danville Road, is 240 feet long; the expansion will add 180 feet to it.

No jobs will be lost as a result of the project, Davis said. Some job reassignments could take place.

“This will add to the plant’s total capacity,” Davis said. “It will help us remain competitive with markets in the South.”

The expansion’s benefits also include fuel efficiency for the massive gas-fired kilns, Davis said. A stack scrubber will be installed and some old equipment replaced.

“We will be putting in a lot of robotics to help with brick handling,” Davis said. “That means we will be able to make more brick per man.”

All the work involving picking up the bricks and stacking them is now done by hand, brick-by-brick.

The new equipment has an international flavor. A setting machine comes from Germany, part of the kiln comes from elsewhere in Europe, and the robotics are designed in Japan, built in Michigan and carry a French name, Davis said.

Davis said Morin Brick Co. ships its products all over the Northeast and as far south as Virginia. Founded in 1912, it is the only remaining brick-making plant in Maine of the 15 or 20 plants that were operating in the 1950s. Davis said there were eight or 10 in New Hampshire a few decades ago and now there are none, and only one small plant out of three or four remain in Vermont.

The company is widely known for the quality and variety of its bricks. Many colleges and schools are built with Morin products, including buildings at Bates, Bowdoin, Dartmouth and Brown, as well as Sabattus, Poland and Lisbon schools.

“Every brick on the Colby College campus comes from Morin,” Davis said.

The bricks are in St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, D’Youville Pavilion, Central Maine Medical Center and on the front of the new Auburn City Building.

The Federal Building in Boston is made of Morin bricks, and some of the company’s products have been used in the restoration of George Washington’s historic home in Mount Vernon.

Davis predicts a shutdown of only about six weeks will be needed during the project. H.E. Callahan of Auburn will be the contractor.

“All the business we can keep local, we will,” Davis said.

The project has been in the planning stages for more than two years. Davis said the city of Auburn was helpful during the permitting process.

Patricia Finnigan, Auburn city manager, said a public hearing is required for an Industrial Development Bond. She said it’s an economic development bond issued by the Finance Authority of Maine.

“It in no way obligates the city or the taxpayers to pay for that bond,” she said.

Similar financing was done for the Good Shepherd Food-Bank building several months ago, she said.

“This project – almost $7 million – is a huge expansion and it will enhance the Auburn tax base,” Finnigan added. “The project is very important to the city, as is job retention. It solidifies the presence of Morin Brick in Auburn.”

The July 12 hearing will give residents an opportunity to express concerns or voice support, Finnigan said.