In 1989, a small group of entrepreneurs in San Antonio, Texas set out to become the first manufacturers of compressed earth block (CEB) machines in the United States. Over the following 28 years, fueled by the mechanical prowess and imagination of Lawrence Jetter, Advanced Earthen Construction Technologies (AECT) would serve as the cradle for the fastest, most reliable compressed earth block (CEB) machines in the world!
In 2017, right about the time Lawrence was retiring and planning to close up the business, Ryan Runge and a business partner met Lawrence and became intrigued with the idea of compressed earth blocks. The stars aligned, AECT was purchased, and the next chapter in this great company’s history would begin!
Ryan and the team moved into an empty pasture, revved up an AECT 3500 CEB machine, and started making the 10,000 blocks needed to complete the 3,200 square foot earth block building that would become AECT's new headquarters.
Ten thousand 10" x 14" x 3.5" un-stabilized compressed earth blocks were produced over the course of just a few weeks and stacked on pallets...staged and ready to be stacked onto the wall over a couple of months.
Once all the earth blocks were produced and ready to go, we started building the CEB walls on the facility where we would eventually manufacture brand new compressed earth block machines.
You can't beat the beautiful natural look of a compressed earth block wall!
For our un-stabilized CEBs, large porch over-hangs on the front and back of the building allow us to leave the un-covered look of the naturally beautiful earth block walls. On the East and West ends of the facility, we covered the CEB walls with a lime plaster which is natural, breathable, and inexpensive.
AECT now has a beautiful, fire-proof, naturally climate controlled facility that we can take pride in and be comfortable working in for decades to come.
Building a new manufacturing facility out of AECT compressed earth blocks was a big first step in the direction Ryan and the team wanted to take AECT moving forward. The project was a great proving grounds for Ryan, and not only did it give the organization a place they could call their own...it also served as a great demonstration of what can be done with a pile of earth and an AECT compressed earth block machine!