“I Worked 20 Hours a Day… I Never Saw Failure as the End of the Road, but the Beginning of a New Journey.”
In the world of business, success is not measured solely by profits, but by the ability to turn challenges into opportunities and setbacks into valuable lessons. Every successful business begins with an idea, but its growth and sustainability depend on courage, determination, hard work, and the belief that success is earned through persistence—not overnight.
This is the story of businessman and engineer Robert Sarkis, founder of RJS Aluminium, who built one of Sydney’s leading aluminium manufacturing and installation companies from the ground up with very limited resources and capital. Today, the company stands behind some of New South Wales’ largest residential and commercial developments, earning a reputation for excellence, quality, and professionalism.
Despite his remarkable business achievements, Robert Sarkis continues to believe that honesty, integrity, community service, and respect for others are the true foundations of success. For him, financial success is not an end in itself, but a means of providing a dignified life for his family and raising his children with strong values, a solid work ethic, and respect for others.
In this exclusive interview with The World Observer Editor-in-Chief Mamdouh Sukkarieh, Robert Sarkis reflects on his inspiring journey—from arriving in Australia as a young migrant to establishing one of the state’s most respected aluminium companies.
From an Architectural Dream to Entrepreneurship
When Robert Sarkis arrived in Australia in the late 1990s, his ambition was to have his architecture qualifications from Lebanon recognised so he could pursue a career as an architect. However, life took him in a different direction. Although he did not follow the career he had originally envisioned, he remained connected to the world of engineering and design, finding a new path that enabled him to transform challenges into opportunities.
At the time, his brother operated an aluminium window manufacturing business that was facing serious financial difficulties. Robert joined the company and worked alongside him for a full year in an effort to save the business. Despite their determination, the company eventually collapsed.
Looking back, Robert recalls:
“I realised that failure is never the end of the road—it is an opportunity to learn. Our biggest mistakes came from not fully understanding the product and the industry. When you own a business and don’t have enough capital to pay wages, your greatest investment becomes your own time and effort.”
Twenty-Hour Working Days
Determined to start again, Robert established RJS Aluminium in Bankstown with a clearer vision and greater experience.
During those early years, he worked nearly 20 hours a day, often seven days a week, dedicating every possible hour to building his company.
He describes that period as one of the most challenging times of his life, especially as he married the year after launching the business, taking on additional family responsibilities while continuing to grow the company.
The First Opportunity… and the First Major Challenge
One of the greatest obstacles was securing enough funding to establish the business.
Robert explains that a trusted building contractor believed in his abilities and agreed to provide an advance payment for an upcoming project. He invested those funds into developing the company before obtaining a bank loan to purchase the equipment needed to expand the business.
Although the decision involved considerable risk, it proved to be the turning point in his career.
He recalls:
“The contractor told me he had been looking for a young person who was ambitious, honest, and eager to grow together with him.”
Soon afterwards, the contractor awarded RJS Aluminium its first major project—a nine-storey residential building at Wolli Creek.
Robert smiles as he remembers accepting the challenge.
“We took on the project even though our factory had never completed anything larger than a single-storey home.”
Major Projects and Growing Confidence
That project became the foundation for the company’s future success. By consistently delivering exceptional quality, precision, and reliability, RJS Aluminium quickly earned the trust of developers and major builders throughout Sydney.
Over the years, the company expanded significantly, completing numerous landmark developments, including a major residential complex in Zetland comprising approximately 500 apartments, a 19-storey building in Burwood, and the impressive 30-storey Skyhouse Tower in Liverpool, part of a major urban redevelopment project valued at approximately A$270 million.
The True Meaning of Success
Despite the company’s impressive growth, Robert Sarkis believes that success cannot be measured simply by the size of a business or the value of its projects.
Instead, he measures success by the trust he has earned from his clients, the professional reputation he has built, and his commitment to serving the community.
He believes that money is not the ultimate goal, but rather a means of providing a comfortable life for his family while raising his children with the values of hard work, honesty, humility, and respect.
Robert Sarkis’s story reflects the journeys of thousands of migrants who arrived in Australia carrying dreams of a better future. Through perseverance, resilience, and unwavering belief in themselves, they transformed those dreams into inspiring success stories that continue to strengthen Australia’s economy and enrich its multicultural society.
The World Observer Media produces a daily online newspaper, a daily Arabic online newspaper and a monthly printed Arabic/English magazine and a weekly printed Arabic/English newspaper.
The World Observer Media’s mission is to entertain and educate all generation from the Ethnic Communities in Australia, who are interested in local, national and foreign information. 
