Dundee company lays the foundations for a Net-Zero future

Callum Milne and Christian Alexander at the launch of new company RADIX Screw Piling. (Photo: Chris Scott Photography, Dundee)

THE GROWING demand for sustainable construction has sparked the growth of a company specialising in low-carbon foundations.

Founded in 2019, Dundee-based RADIX Base Systems (RADIX) has rapidly become the UK’s largest screw pile foundations company. Designing, manufacturing, supplying and installing their sustainable foundation solutions across the country and beyond, RADIX is eradicating the need for heavy excavations and pouring carbon-heavy concrete, reducing programme lengths by up to 70%.

RADIX Screw Piles provide an efficient, low-carbon alternative to concrete, the world’s most widely used construction material, responsible for 6-10% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By contrast, RADIX Screw Piles contain 81% less embodied carbon (CO2e) than an equivalent concrete base.

Built on decades of engineering and manufacturing expertise, carefully considered design processes and expert installation capabilities, RADIX Screw Piles offer a robust foundation solution that overcomes challenging ground conditions, makes accessing remote and off-grid areas possible and, with the ability to be installed all year round and in any weather, avoid costly and untimely delays. They can also be removed as easily as installed, making them ideal for temporary structures.

RADIX already has an impressive track record for delivering projects across various sectors including agriculture, leisure and tourism and residential. Recent projects include bespoke foundations for a holiday lodge on a rocky cliff edge in Fife and the rapid installation of screw piles for several multi-unit holiday parks across rural Scotland, including one in Cairngorms National Park. RADIX Screw Piles also now supports a 1.5-storey family eco-house in Dundee. As awareness grows around the benefits of screw pile foundations, their potential is realised for many other applications.

With growing demand from the renewables sector, RADIX has joined forces with Essex-based Red Leaf Group to create a new company, RADIX Screw Piling. By combining the experience, resources and geographical coverage, the teams can offer unrivalled design, supply and installation of specialist screw piles and bespoke base systems across the UK.

RADIX Screw Piling has already taken massive strides in supporting the renewables sector, specifically solar and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) projects, where bespoke structural steel platforms can be designed, manufactured and installed on screw piles for contractors to fit battery, Power Conditioning Systems (PCS) and transformer units directly and immediately on top of. Crucially, this allows projects to energise faster and enables project funding to be released sooner.

With unrivalled expertise and industry-leading installation equipment, the new company is set to achieve projects at greater capacities, with installations already completed for a 500kW Solar Array, located in a wind-exposed area in Dumfries and Galloway, and a 50MW Battery Energy Storage System in Suffolk, where the programme length was more than halved.

The business growth will see RADIX quadrupling storage capacity at its Dundee headquarters, with an additional 8500 sq ft warehouse at Dryburgh Industrial Estate. Meanwhile, a new 4000 sq ft warehouse has been acquired at the South-based headquarters in Chelmsford.  This will allow RADIX to further increase its UK stock holding with its comprehensive range of screw pile foundations, ready for immediate supply.

The owners of the new company, Callum Milne and Christian Alexander, are confident that this is the next logical step for their business endeavours.

Callum Milne explained: “We founded our business on the belief that the future of construction must be efficient and sustainable and that low-carbon screw pile foundations should always be the first choice. By supporting the construction industry with our innovative solutions, we are helping them quite literally build a net-zero future. The launch of the new company increases our capacity as a Group, ensuring we can continue to meet our customers’ requirements and further improve our range of products and services.”

Christian Alexander added: “Having made huge strides in sectors such as renewables, leisure and tourism and infrastructure, we are now building momentum across these markets and creating a faster installation turnaround through better product availability, greater capacity to meet project delivery deadlines, and enhanced customer services. Effectively, we’re establishing a one-stop shop with installation and production expertise under one roof. By offering offices in Scotland and the South East of England, we are better equipped to exceed customers’ requirements and those of our employees and site teams to meet the growing demands of the UK marketplace and overseas.”

For more information, contact www.radixgroup.co.uk

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