Terrasmart ground screws for solar racking now manufactured in-house
Terrasmart’s domestic ground screws for solar racking foundations, which have historically been manufactured at outside companies, will now be produced at Terrasmart’s manufacturing facility in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“Terrasmart was one of the first providers of ground screw foundations in the U.S., bringing additional reliability and performance to sites in challenging conditions and opening new opportunities for ground-mount solar,” says Ed McKiernan, President, Terrasmart. “Moving domestic ground screw production in-house streamlines our supply chain, maximizing availability for qualifying solar projects to meet domestic content thresholds to benefit our customers, the solar industry, and the wider U.S. economy.”
Ground screw manufacturing expansion
Currently, Terrasmart’s ground screw manufacturing capacity is on track to sustain nearly 500 MWs of new PV projects.
To make this possible, the new production line consists of twelve work stations, an induction heater, forge, plasma cutter, stamping press, three-hole punch and set nut welder, and six helical welders. The facility will also add three different sizes of ground screws to its list. To empower its team members, Terrasmart trained and upskilled the ground screw assembly line team in five new skill sets.
Ground screws for tough terrains
Ground screws are a crucial type of solar foundation because they are more effective in tougher terrains and in a wide variety of soils, in addition to the driven piles and ballasted foundations that make up Terrasmart’s foundation portfolio.
“We are known for our focus on advising on and providing the optimal foundation solutions for every site. Domestic, in-house ground screw production allows us to partner with our customers with even greater efficiency and reliability,” explains Yury Reznikov, Chief Sales Officer, Terrasmart.
Domestic content impact
Supply chain resilience has been top of mind for solar industry professionals amidst disruptions rippling from ongoing changes and pressures in global trade and logistics. This expanded in-house production adds to Terrasmart’s on-shoring of its supply chain, which is part of Terrasmart’s larger vertical integration strategy. Vertical integration enhances supply chain resilience and maximizes availability for domestic racking components.
