Robert Bird Group Joins Surbana Jurong

Robert Bird Group, one of Australia’s leading structural, civil and construction engineering firms, has today announced it will join the global network of Singapore-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting business Surbana Jurong Private Limited (Surbana Jurong).

Surbana Jurong recognises the best approach is to have a group of specialists operate in the global marketplace individually, with the flexibility to work independently or collaboratively depending on the opportunities that arise. They recognised that Robert Bird Group’s expertise in complex structural, civil and construction engineering would complement their existing focus on urban, industrial and infra-structure developments, and that a collaboration would present many real and live global opportunities for both firms into the future. Robert Bird Group leadership will remain intact, and will largely be fulfilling the same roles. The deal immediately strengthens Robert Bird Group’s global footprint, accelerating its entrance into Asia and Africa while offering new opportunities in its established markets through collaboration with other Surbana Jurong companies.  The natural synergies and complementary strengths between Robert Bird Group and other businesses within the Surbana Jurong network will deliver a stronger, more integrated proposition for clients.

Established in 1982 in Brisbane, the Robert Bird Group has extensive experience working across a range of high-profile global projects, including London’s Westfield Whitecity Shopping Centre, Dubai’s ICD Brookfield Place tower, Melbourne’s Australia 108 residential tower and Sydney’s One Central Park tower and Darling Harbour Live development.

The firm, which employs 600 people across their 10 global offices, has worked successfully with Surbana Jurong in the past including on the Westin Hotel Darwin and the Queensland Government’s Logan Enhancement Project.

This latest acquisition continues Surbana Jurong Group’s growth strategy, and will augment its acquisition of Australia-based infrastructure consultancy SMEC Holdings Ltd last year, providing a strong complementary fit and completing its value-chain proposition for its urban and infrastructure clients.

Surbana Jurong is one of Asia’s largest consultancies and has been shaping Singapore’s urban and industrial landscape for over 50 years. They have designed and completed more than one million homes in Singapore, with the Group boasting an annual turnover of S$1.3 billion and a global workforce of over 13,000 employees operating across 44 countries.

Robert Bird Group founder and Chairman, Robert Bird, said:

“This agreement represents the next stage of growth for Robert Bird Group, with closer alignment to Surbana Jurong giving us the opportunity to access new projects around the world for a wider base of clients. We also see this as being a natural fit given the synergies of our two businesses in terms of geography, competencies and clients.

“At the same time, joining the Surbana Jurong network gives the Robert Bird Group greater access to capital, greater resources and greater scale.  This will only heighten our ability in securing new national and international projects and will open the door to further growth for our firm across Asia and in Africa.

“It will be business as usual as far as our values, our operations and our team are concerned. I will also continue my role with Robert Bird Group to ensure our vision is delivered and our people have an environment to excel.”

Surbana Jurong Private Limited’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Wong Heang Fine, said:

“Surbana Jurong Group’s growth strategy is about enhancing core capabilities and extending market reach, so that we create more opportunities for all our people. I am excited to welcome the Robert Bird Group into the Surbana Jurong Group of companies. The strong complementary fit between our businesses means we can immediately offer our clients a more complete value-chain suite of services, not just in Australia, but now more than ever, in more markets globally.

Since 2015, Surbana Jurong Group has tripled in size, both in terms of talent base as well as in revenue. The Group’s growth has been both organic as well as inorganic. Leveraging our partner companies’ strengths allow us to tap into key growth sectors. At the same time, it allows us a bigger stage to take our urban planning, coastal engineering, township and other capabilities global.  Today marks the next phase of our growth as we look to further globalise and transform our business further.”

About Robert Bird Group

Founded in Brisbane, Australia, Robert Bird Group is a specialist consulting engineering firm with 600 staff across more than 10 offices located around the globe.  Its vision is “the relentless pursuit of engineering excellence”. The Group offers consulting engineering services across five disciplines within the built environment including structural engineering, civil engineering, construction engineering, geotechnical engineering (UK only), digital engineering (BIM Management, 4D Visualisation, and Digital Design). These services are offered both as stand-alone and packaged disciplines across most building and infrastructure sectors, including public and private projects.

Robert Bird Group was named in The Australian Financial Review’s 50 Most Innovative Companies for 2017 and received the ‘Structures in Extreme Conditions’ Award for its work on Meygen Phase 1A at the 2017 IStructE 2017 Structural Awards.

About Surbana Jurong Private Limited

Temasek-owned Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) is one of the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firms. Leveraging technology and creativity, SJ provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of the urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains. Headquartered in Singapore, the SJ Group has a global workforce of 13,000 employees in 123 offices across 44 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas, and an annual turnover of around S$1.3 billion. SJ has a track record of over 50 years, and has built more than a million homes in Singapore, crafted master plans for more than 30 countries and developed over 50 industrial parks globally.  SJ’s motto ‘Building Cities, Shaping Lives’ reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and designs infrastructure where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.

The Surbana Jurong Group of companies also includes Australian iconic engineering power-house Snowy Mountain Engineering Company (SMEC), Singaporean engineering consultants KTP, China-based architecture and engineering firm Sino-Sun, Singaporean safety and security company AETOS, and stakes in Chinese construction and engineering company CITIC and construction, architecture and engineering data sharing firm Flux (the first company launched by Google X).

For media enquiries, please contact:

Robert Bird Group

Melissa Patch, Cato&Clegg

T: +61 2 8306 4244 M: +61 412 124 195 E: melissa@catoandclegg.com

Surbana Jurong
Jackie Yu, Deputy Director, Group Communications
T: +65 6839-7326 M: +65 9688-4269 E: Jackie.YuWC@surbanajurong.com