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ADVERTORIAL
After swapping living in the jungles of Papua New Guinea for exploring and enhancing Britain’s railways, James Morrow, director of SEP Geotech discusses his unique career journey alongside why the company is quickly becoming the go-to company for all things ground investigation
From jungle adventures to ground-breaking rail solutions S
ince its establishment in 2021, SEP Geotech has experienced a rapid growth trajectory, and Director James Morrow attributes this success to the team’s collaborative approach and ability to provide a complete one-stop-shop service. Part of the wider SEP Rail Group, SEP Geotech is led by engineering expert James, whose team works hand-in-hand with the group’s design, surveying, engineering and culant arms, building client partnerships underpinned by trust and honesty.
Identifying a gap in the market SEP Geotech was formed in 2021 following the launch of SEP Design in 2020. Backed by decades of experience, SEP Design’s in-house team covers every stage of the project lifecycle, helping consultants and contractors solve even their most complex of challenges. But something was missing that James felt could be developed to strengthen the group’s offering even further. A key driver for SEP Geotech’s launch was the identification of a gap in the surveying market, where traditional survey companies often lacked an understanding of the designer’s requirements, explained James. Similarly, a weakness of designers is that they often don’t understand how difficult it is to actually obtain survey information, or what it costs. “With SEP Rail Group we provide all the different elements – the survey company, the design company, and the engineering company that carries out the installation. Having it all under one roof makes more sense, particularly from a client perspective, because it de-risks their programme and their costs.” James explained. “When launching SEP Geotech, our unique selling point was that very few survey companies have access to a ground investigation business or civils design support. To subcontract that out and not have control of it is quite a big risk to a project. “The competition in the existing market wasn’t as strong as we felt we could be. They didn’t necessarily invest in innovation, whereas at SEP Geotech we pride ourselves on investment, in both our people and equipment.”
As the SEP Rail Group developed a bigger client base there was an increase in demand for additional services, including ground investigations, surveying, utilities and de-vegetation. This led to the formation of SEP Geotech, which employs professional geotechnical engineers and drilling teams providing specialist ground investigation support for some of rail’s largest and most recognisable projects. “It was an open goal for us really.” James explained. “We were working in conjunction with
other businesses in the group and we identified Kieran Moran – Director, who now leads our Geotechnical team. He has been outstanding at leading our delivery and really growing the businesses’ capabilities.” SEP Geotech’s unique offering has resulted in rapid and impressive growth, with a wealth of projects delivered and relationships forged with some of the biggest names in rail – including construction engineering specialist Colas and leading rail contractor QTS Group.
October 2023
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