RSK acquires remediation pioneer and opens gateway to Europe26 AprilRSK Benelux BVBA – a subsidiary of the RSK Group – has acquired pioneering remediation specialists ESA to become one of the most technically proficient environmental consultancies in Europe. The conclusion of the deal comes only weeks after ESA acquired the consultancy arm of Lisec, one of Belgium’s oldest and most respected contaminated land companies. Since its formation six years ago, ESA has emerged as one of the most progressive European companies in its field. Primarily working in the chemical and manufacturing sectors, it has provided innovative remediation solutions to clients such as Agfa Gevaert, Punch, VOPAK, Tessenderlo Chemie and Parker Hannifin. Its flagship project has been to devise Europe’s largest ever in situ remediation scheme, a EU-funded best-practice benchmark project for Tenneco Automotive Europe. Applying an enhanced reductive dechlorination technique combined with in situ precipitation on an unprecedented scale (70 hectares), ESA is in the process of eradicating chlorinated volatile organic compounds and chromium VI contamination from beneath 150 houses. Since 2005, the remediation has advanced with remarkable success and the project is on course to hit its ambitious completion targets. As a measure of its prestige, RSK Benelux BVBA will be discussing the remediation scheme at the high-profile Battelle International In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Symposium next month. Meanwhile, in another potential headline grabber, ESA has made steps towards implementing the world’s first large-scale anaerobic benzene remediation technique, with encouraging pilot tests currently underway.
Stefan Bangels, former managing director of ESA and now RSK BVBA Benelux, said: Due to its cutting edge approach and close relationships with universities and research institutions, there are plans for ESA to preside over a Group-wide international remediation centre of excellence that will link in with RSK’s UK-based remediation specialists (subsidiaries RemedX and RSK Remediation Ltd) and its 240-strong geo-environmental site investigation team.
RSK Benelux BVBA and European sales director Dr Paul Upton said: Through its incorporation of ESA and Lisec, RSK Benelux BVBA now has a staff of 20 across offices in Dordrecht, Netherlands and Willbroek and Hasselt, Belgium. The latter offices’ proximity to France and Germany respectively, coupled with RSK Benelux BVBa’s numerous multi-lingual staff, gives RSK the ideal platform to expand its operations into mainland Europe. RSK Benelux BVBa’s complete range of services now comprises brownfield land assessment, remediation design, due diligence and compliance auditing and health and safety management system development. The acquisitions is RSK’s third since its successful buy-out of the American AECOM company ENSR’s minority shareholding in December 2006 (the other recent additions to the Group being 150-strong site investigation company Structural Soils and ecology specialists Carter Ecological). RSK’s recent strategic mergers are an integral part of an ambitious expansion plan to become the UK’s number one environmental consultancy. Key to this goal will be to build on the Group’s growth in recent years, notably a doubled workforce since 2005 to almost 600 employees, a turnover increase of 35% since 2002/2003 to over £26m in 2005/06 (the figure is set to hit £40m in 2006/07) and breakthroughs in European, Middle Eastern and North African markets. Notes for editors
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