2023 Unpacked with Jack

Operations manager Jack Clark has now been at the helm of Royston Australia (RA) for almost three years.

He was promoted to the position from the role of assistant operations manager and first joined Royston in the UK in 2007 as a diesel technician.

Jack, what’s been your focus at RA over the past 12 months?

On the back of strong demand from our core customers, RA has continued to grow. We’ve increased our presence in the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, WA, undertaken some sizable projects for some great new clients, and seen our workshop remain busy all year.

Royston CEO Sarah Wade has been a continual source of support and paved the way for RA’s growth. She’s visited our Henderson base twice this year, meeting with existing and potential customers, supporting our employees and helping problem solve in order to elevate our service. Given Royston’s worldwide footprint, our clients very much value Sarah’s perspective.

Maintenance and repair businesses in WA are struggling to find good people. How has RA fared with that this year?

We’re fortunate we’ve had great people on secondment from Royston UK when we needed them.

I also went back to the UK in February of this year to visit our head office, as well as scope out potential talent, which is just one advantage of having a UK headquarters.

Importantly, we are now back to a 7-man local team with the right blend of expertise.

Our team are very experienced with high and medium speed engines. We are meticulous, methodical and very good at driving quality. We’ve also streamlined our internal administration and onboarded a new person to head up our parts business, and this is a significant role for us.

How has RA managed to attract such good people in a tight labour market?

When you're working with engines the size we are, it’s a different ballgame, and that attracts people to us. They think, “I’d love to do that."

They’re also the type of people who want to be busy, and want to do work that is technical and that challenges them on a day-to-day basis.

We have a good atmosphere here at Royston Australia; we have a really good mix of ages in our team, with half aged over forty and half under. It's a really good dynamic.

What’s in store for RA in 2024?

Our focus is to keep it simple. We will continue supporting our clients while building on the skills and capabilities of our team. So far, it’s looking good in 2024.