RSK Australia: Managing Director Mark Haydock looks at the story so far  

Since its creation in 2021, RSK Australia has grown in strength, providing a range of engineering and environmental services to clients across the country via RSK Group companies. At the helm is Managing Director Mark Haydock, who is playing an integral role in the group’s continuing expansion in Australia. 

I came into the group via EDP, which was the first business to be acquired by RSK in Australia. While the business’s headquarters were in the UK, it had around 30 employees based in Sydney, who went on to become RSK Australia’s first team. Fast forward two years and we now have nearly 700 employees and nine businesses operating in the country. It was evident through discussions early on in the initial acquisition process that the potential for RSK to grow in Australia was significant. Once in the group, we quickly formulated a plan to build RSK in Australia, and this included my transfer from the UK to Australia in August 2021. Having previously worked in Sydney for six years, I had a good knowledge of the Australian market, and RSK’s expansion into the country aligned with the infrastructure boom across most states, specifically in New South Wales and Victoria. 

In a country of extremes, our driving force for expansion in this part of the world was, and continues to be, a desire to help Australia become future ready. Essential to the growth of the country is a need to build resilience, and we support our clients in tackling important issues. This includes adapting to the impacts of climate change, building sustainable infrastructure for a growing population and considering biodiversity. My role is focused on delivering RSK’s strategy to build a full suite of engineering, environmental and technical services across the whole of Australia while building a central services team to support our growing business. We’re lucky to have a very talented team driving that strategy forward, and I’m steering the ship in the right direction, ensuring that both our business and our people benefit from the opportunities that are created by being part of the group. 

Of course, the process hasn’t been without its challenges. RSK was an unknown quantity in Australia, so raising brand awareness has been crucial to attracting good people and good businesses to join the group. We still have a lot of work to do to raise the profile of the business, but we’ve made great strides forward in the last two years. I’m particularly proud of how we’ve brought together a great group of like-minded leaders, both in our central services team and within the businesses that join RSK Australia. Seeing the strength of the team and its commitment to RSK is something we can all be proud of, and being part of such a diverse group means there are enormous opportunities for businesses and people to grow and flourish. This can come in various forms, such as working internationally and getting involved in multidisciplinary projects. Witnessing people having great career opportunities is always exciting and the most rewarding part of the job. 

RSK’s aim in Australia is to be at the forefront of the group’s global expansion over the next few years as it achieves its international ambitions in Latin America, Europe and Asia. RSK has just launched the group’s 2030 strategy, and our aim is to have Australian revenue at $1.4 billion by 2030, which will likely equate to 50 businesses operating in the country and more than 5000 employees. 

An important part of our plan is to help RSK businesses expand into Australia, and we invite any in the group to reach out if there’s an interest to explore this. Binnies recently expanded in Australia through a combined effort from the Binnies UK, Binnies Singapore and RSK Australia teams working together to make it possible. We believe Australia is a great market for many of RSK’s businesses, and a key part of our success will come from helping others follow the same path. 

I knew when I took on the role of managing director for RSK Australia that it would be a ‘once in a career’ opportunity. It’s still a young business, but with what we’ve achieved in the last two years, paired with the passion of the team and the 2030 strategy to guide us, the future is looking very bright.