The concept of tightly fitted paving units on a granular base is very old. The first segmental roads were built in 5,000 B.C. by the Minoans. With free labor and military dominance, the Romans built the first interstate system with segmental pavement over 2,000 years ago. Since then, practically every culture continues to use segmental pavements.

European nations used segmental paving for centuries. Of particular interest are the Dutch, who live on land reclaimed from the ocean and protected by dikes. The ground settles 6"-12"(150 mm - 300 mm) every five to ten years. Settlement is caused by removal of water in the soil that slowly seeps in from the sea. The pavement has to be removed during this interval and the underlying soil brought up to grade. The need for a pavement that can be removed and reinstalled led to a 1,000-year tradition of using segmental paving, most of it made from clay.

After World War II in the midst of rebuilding, the Netherlands experienced a shortage of coal to fire clay bricks for buildings and pavement. All the clay units made went to constructing buildings. there were few available for pavement. Concrete paving units, approximately the same size as clay units, were developed as a substitute. The idea quickly spread to Germany. Both German and Dutch companies developed higher concrete paver manufacturing equipment in the 1960s. Production technology spread to England, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in the 1970s. Today, Germany produces over two billion square feet of bricks annually.