A Century of Sika
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Sika AG /
A Century of Sika
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On October 8 the long-established company celebrated its 100-year jubilee at the
Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne (KKL) with prominent guests from
government and business. Also in the future Sika should grow strongly.
A festive ceremony on October 8, 2010 marked Sika's official celebration of the
company's 100-year jubilee. In 1910 Kaspar Winkler launched the product Sika 1
with his newly founded firm; Sika 1 made mortar waterproof. Just eight years
later the company achieved its breakthrough when the Swiss Federal Railway
relied on Sika 1 to seal the newly electrified Gotthard Tunnel against ingress
of water.
Molded by Growth and Success
The 100-year history of the family enterprise has been molded by growth and
success. The Burkard-Schenker Family, descendents of the founder, brought the
company onto the stock market in the 1970s and retained a majority shareholding.
The additional capital allowed expansion into areas outside of construction
chemicals as for example the automotive industry. The last ten years have been
among the most turbulent: sales rose from CHF 2 billion to CHF 4.6 billion, to
which the more then 40 companies acquired since 2000 contributed no small
measure. The number of employees increased during that same period from 8 000 to
some 12 500.
Sika's Core Competencies Today
Since the year 2000 Sika's core competencies are focused on sealing, bonding,
damping, reinforcing and protecting load-bearing structures. The concrete
admixture Sika® ViscoCrete®, launched in 2000, has developed into a significant
pillar of revenue. Other business areas in Sika are also booming. Due to strong
growth the company must invest in expansion and development of personnel and
production capacity; the entire management organization has been newly
structured. In addition, marketing and sales activities are rigorously oriented
toward the four main customer groups Concrete Producers, Contractors,
Distributors and Industry. Toward the end of the decade Sika felt the global
recession. Nevertheless, during this trying period the company achieved
widespread gains in market share. Today the Gotthard Base Tunnel is once more a
significant project for Sika, for which the company makes its latest
technologies available to support construction of the 57 kilometer long tunnel.
Further Growth of Sales Targeted
In advance of the jubilee celebrations Sika Senior Management from around the
world travelled to Lucerne to discuss future perspectives of the enterprise in
workshops. CEO Ernst Bärtschi pointed out in his address that in the last ten
years Sika has been able to increase its market share in all areas. He expounded
further the strategy by which Sika can achieve a market share of 20 percent in
target markets with focused growth. "With this strategy, Sika will increase
sales to CHF 8 billion within the next seven to eight years!" argued Bärtschi
convincingly to the assembled management.
Support of a Professorship in Sustainability
Sika professes its obligation to the principles of sustainable development. Sika
solutions help to reduce CO(2) emissions in the building and construction
sector, and water consumption in manufacturing of concrete. To emphasize this
engagement, within the scope of its 100-year jubilee Sika is endowing a new
professorship at a new institute to be founded at the ETH Zurich for sustainable
civil engineering. Conjoined with this partnership is a grant to the ETH Zurich
Foundation in the amount of CHF 7 million. Walter Grüebler, Chairman of the
Board of Directors of Sika AG: "The demands for environmentally friendly
materials cannot be developed solely on the basis of existing experience, but
require new solutions. It is therefore crucial that Sika advance a high level of
scientific competence to enable ideas for sustainable innovations. The ETH
Zurich is the ideal partner for this."
Gratification to Employees
Sika's Group Management and Board of Directors have also decided on the occasion
of the 100-year celebration to pay all employees worldwide a jubilee award of
CHF 1 000. With this award Group Management and the Board of Directors
acknowledge on one hand the great efforts of all employees at all locations and
in all business units and functions, and on the other hand the successful
development of the company in recent years.
Celebrations and Gala Event
On the festive day itself, October 8, guests and Sika representatives rode with
an extra train from Lucerne to the Gotthard Tunnel, the place where company
founder Kaspar Winkler achieved the breakthrough to successful entrepreneur. In
addition participants were able to view the New European Alpine Transit (NEAT)
Project onsite, a week prior to the historic Gotthard Base Tunnel break. Sika is
once again actively involved in this exceptionally important project for
Switzerland and for European transit with a range of diverse products and
services.
An evening gala event held at the Culture and Congress Centre Lucerne (KKL) with
more than five hundred invited guests from around the world included
representatives from government and business.
Sika AG Contact: Dominik Slappnig
Zugerstrasse 50 Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
CH-6341 Baar, Switzerland Mobile: +41 79 236 52 64
www.sika.com Tel.: +41 58 436 68 00
Fax: +41 58 436 68 50
slappnig.dominik(at)ch.sika.com
Sika AG Corporate Profile
Sika AG, located in Baar, Switzerland, is a globally active company supplying
the specialty chemicals markets. It is a leader in processing materials used in
sealing, bonding, damping, reinforcing and protecting load-bearing structures in
construction (buildings and infrastructure construction) and in industry
(vehicle, building component and equipment production).
Sika's product lines feature high-quality concrete admixtures, specialty
mortars, sealants and adhesives, damping and reinforcing materials, structural
strengthening systems, industrial flooring as well as roofing and waterproofing
systems. Subsidiaries in more than 70 countries worldwide and approximately
12 000 employees link customers directly to Sika and ensure the success of all
our partners. Sika achieves annual sales of CHF 4.2 billion. Visit our website
atwww.sika.com.
The media release can be downloaded from the following link:
[HUG#1450348]
--- End of Message ---
Sika AG
Zugerstrasse 50 Baar null
WKN: 858573;ISIN: CH0000587979;
Media Release:
http://hugin.info/100359/R/1450348/391788.pdf
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Source: Sika AG via Thomson Reuters ONE
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 08.10.2010 - 18:31 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 44776
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contact information:
Town:
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Kategorie:
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