THEY are the scourge of motorists across Scotland and beyond, but now a small north-east company is hoping to eradicate potholes from the nation’s roads.

Red Stag Materials has acquired the rights to make and distribute a cold asphalt product, EZ Street, which is proving a huge success in the USA and especially in Alaska and Washington state.

The UK has a pothole backlog that could take 11 years to repair, according to the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey, and Red Stag Materials are hoping to tap into a market that could be worth £11bn in that period.

EZ Street is described by Red Materials as offering “a cost-effective alternative to traditional means of pothole repair” and say that it is “significantly faster to install than other options”.

They add that it requires no heavy plant to install, comes in bulk bags and can be stored for up to a year. It uses a particular polymer making the repair fast-acting and permanent. Red Stag has already gone into partnership with Aberdeenshire Council which is using the product for the repair of its roads. The company has also begun to create and expand a network of distributors to assist in supplying EZ Street to everyone who may require it.

Grant Shewan, managing director of Red Stag Materials, told The National that his company has shifted over 200 tons of EZ Street in the past few weeks.

He said: “During this lockdown local authorities are looking for ways of carrying out emergency repairs such as potholes by using a few workers as possible.

“EZ Street does just that, and it’s a product that has been a success in places as far apart as Alaska and Australia so we reckon it can handle even Scottish weather.

“Red Stag Materials are confident that our products and methodology will be similarly embraced in the UK and are excited to work with local authorities to help them get the best results out of our products and our experience.”

Shewan explained about the young business: “Red Stag was founded in 2018, after my fellow directors and I noticed a significant lack of high-quality alternatives to traditional road repair products. We wanted to provide something that offers a higher quality and less expensive alternative, but crucially, one that’s also greener and more sustainable as well.

“We secured the exclusive UK rights to EZ Street, which gives us the tremendous opportunity to offer local authorities as well as private companies an efficient alternative to traditional hot asphalt materials.

“EZ Street is unique in that it substitutes the diesel found in many cold asphalt solutions, with bio-fuel, making it more sustainable.”

Scotland is in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of The National is at stake. Please consider supporting us through this with a digital subscription from just £2 for 2 months by following this link: http://www.thenational.scot/subscribe. Thanks – and stay safe.