Growing organically by following clients into untried territory has been a hallmark of SRK Consulting’s successful expansion across the globe, building a brand that now precedes the opening of its new offices.

Much of the company’s success has been built on its differentiating its service from that of its competitors, offering a value proposition that brings established clients back and compels new clients to choose SRK.

While making and maintaining relationships with clients is a key aspect of its growth, it is increasingly the power of the SRK brand that fills the order book.

“There is a general perception that you need relationships to break into a sector, but, while this is important, we have found that clients come to SRK more because they know they will get solid technical advice from us,” said Peter Labrum, MD of the South African practice.

Group chairperson Mike Armitage remembers the early days of setting up the business’s UK office in Wales in 1988, when few prospective clients had heard about SRK. “In contrast, our name was well known by the time we opened the offices in Russia and Kazakhstan – in 2006 and 2010 respectively – and this brand recognition certainly boosted the workflow from early on.”

“We generally follow our clients into new markets whenever possible and set up our own infrastructure,” he said. “Being closer to the market brings confidence and more work, which can also benefit other offices of the network.”

Importantly, these offices are not just shop windows for new business, emphasises group MD Andy Barrett.

“We build capacity to enable each of our consultants to develop familiarity and comfort with SRK’s standards and deliver services to the same level of quality,” said Barrett. “Not only is that good for the professional development of the individuals but it is also good for the country where that office is based.

“Our goal is to ensure that each office is sustainable from within, where they can be staffed by local professionals of the highest calibre and ability,” he said. “It is our view that the growth of our business must be in response to the requirements of clients.”

The investment markets play an important role in kick-starting mining projects in various parts of the world, and SRK’s operational proximity to London and Vancouver, for instance, has built many bridges.

In the case of London-based explorers and miners, they will often prefer to work with the UK office to ensure easy communication.

“More than one-third of the work we currently do from the UK office is for projects in Africa,” said Armitage. “These are mainly focused on iron-ore in West Africa – in countries such as Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana.”

Barrett, who is based in the Vancouver office, said: “From our Vancouver office, SRK deals with many junior, midtier and major mining companies, whose work, in turn, takes us into a number of countries around the world.”

Ongoing interest in Africa has led SRK to open offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana in the last couple of years, as well as to rejuvenate its presence in Zimbabwe.

With offices on all six continents, the direction of the group is guided by an overarching company, SRK Consulting (Global). This structure includes a group of practice leaders who give direction and help maintain the culture of professionalism. They are generally senior consultants who generate significant business for a practice and have demonstrated long-term commitment.

Practice leaders also work together to coordinate technology and knowledge transfer through information-sharing and internal workshops; they also set group standards for quality, health, safety and sustainability.