Sika AG is a Swiss
multinational specialty chemical company that supplies to the building and motor vehicle industries, headquartered in
Baar,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. The company develops and produces systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing and protecting. It has 34,500 employees, subsidiaries in more than 103 countries around the world and manufactures in over 400 factories.
["Annual Report 2024."](_blank)
sika.com. Retrieved 2025-05-12; https://www.sika.com/en/about-us/who-we-are.html
Sika AG is the legal entity for the holding company, which includes the Sika organizations worldwide, Sika Technology AG and Sika Services AG.
History
1910 - 1950
* 1910: Kaspar Winkler founded Sika under the name Kaspar Winkler & Co,
Zurich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. Winkler's first inventions were agents to protect and clean
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
and a waterproofing agent for
mortars
Mortar may refer to:
* Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon
* Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
* Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind
* Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
. This waterproofing agent named Sika-1 is still sold today in a slightly modified version.
* 1912: Subsidiary founded. In Southern Germany, a subsidiary with its own, smallscale manufacturing facility was founded. By hiring a Director for Foreign Operations who cared about the Sika operations, more subsidiaries were founded in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
* 1918: The
Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland.
The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...
ran successful trials using Sika to waterproof the
tunnels
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
of the
Gotthard section. Waterproofing became necessary with the introduction of electric trains. The Swiss National Railways waterproofed 67 tunnels with Sika during the following years, which was Sika's breakthrough, as it represented the first big reference project, a true
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...
.
* 1935: Worldwide Presence. Before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Fritz Schenker, Winkler's son-in-law, drove forward the expansion in Europe, North- and South-America and Asia.
1950 - 2000
* 1971: Second generation change. Romuald Burkard took over the leadership of the group of companies which by 1968 had become a single integral corporate structure with Sika Finanz AG as the parent company. Subsequentlly, Sika was listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange.
* 1990: Challenging environment. The 1990s was a challenging decade for Sika. To improve performance, the company withdrew from less lucrative, non-core businesses, such as the building of robots used to restore sewer lines. Sika also abandoned the manufacture of road building products.
* 2000: Core competencies. Sika launches a focused growth strategy and summarizes its core competencies as follows: sealing, bonding,
damping
In physical systems, damping is the loss of energy of an oscillating system by dissipation. Damping is an influence within or upon an oscillatory system that has the effect of reducing or preventing its oscillation. Examples of damping include ...
,
reinforcing and protecting.
2000 - present
* 2010: 100-year anniversary. Worldwide celebrations at all subsidiaries.
* 2018: Sika, the Burkard family and Saint-Gobain have signed agreements which terminated and resolved their dispute to the common benefit of all parties involved and that of their respective shareholders and stakeholders.
* 2019: Acquisition of Parex. In May 2019, Sika acquired Parex, a global mortar manufacturer with a focus on tile setting materials and facade renderings.
* 2023: Acquisition of MBCC Group. In May 2023, Sika acquired a global construction chemicals company offering a wide range of products which help enhance efficiency, performance and sustainability in the construction industry.
"One year of Teamwork and Collaboration."
sika.com, 8 May 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-01 This represents Sika's largest acquisition to date.
Key data
Brands
Besides the brand Sika, more than 900 product brands
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
are in use including Sikaflex, SikaTack, Sika ViscoCrete, SikaBond, Sikafloor, Sika CarboDur Sikagard, Sika MaxTack, Sikaplan, Sikament, Sikadur, SikaLastic, SikaRoof MTC, Sika Unitherm and Sika Sarnafil.
References
External links
Sika Worldwide Website
Sika UK Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sika Group
Chemical companies of Switzerland
Chemical companies established in 1910
Construction chemicals companies
Swiss brands
Swiss companies established in 1910
Companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange
Companies in the Swiss Market Index
Specialty chemical companies
Multinational companies headquartered in Switzerland
Companies based in the canton of Zug