NORTH-EAST farmer and inventor Ian Christie is gaining success with his revolutionary new style of construction material for building security walls to protect against risks from vehicle impact, explosion, landslides and floods.
Mr Christie, of Leochel Cushnie, near Tarland, hopes the Euroblock he has invented will change the face of construction.
He said its secret was in the concrete mix and interlocking design, which meant it could be used to build a wall without a foundation and without using cement.
He said the Euroblock had already passed impact and explosion tests carried out by a UK Government agency with flying colours.
The Aberdeenshire farmer now has an office in Aberdeen employing two sales and administration staff and runs the Euroblock business alongside his farm. Son Ian jun, who is at agricultural college, also helps out.
After taking five years to have the name and design patented, Mr Christie now has the Euroblock in production at Inverurie Precast.
He said the Euroblock, which is trademarked and has BSI accreditation, cost about one-third less than other security blocks.
The blocks are being snapped up by local authorities and firms nationwide to be used for landslide and flood protection.
Orders are also coming in for their use in agriculture, landfill and containment. Mr Christie said thousands of blocks had been sold and among recent orders was one for 1,500 blocks from a north-east marina for use in sea walls. Another verbal order was for 2,000 blocks from a firm north of Inverness.
He said the next step was to take the Euroblock abroad, and international risk-mitigation specialist AKE, which has an office in Aberdeen and in places as hostile as Baghdad and Kabul, would be its international sales agent.