2024 ASI Top 20: Sika

Founded in 1910, Sika started out when Kaspar Winkler invented Sika-1, a quick-setting waterproofing admixture for mortar. The innovation was used to waterproof the Gotthard Tunnel, a key connection between northern and southern Europe. From that beginning the company has grown to be a multinational specialty chemicals company developing and producing systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protecting in the building and construction and motor vehicle industries. The company organizes its product offerings into Construction Solutions and Industry Solutions, with specified target markets including: Concrete, Waterproofing, Roofing, Building Finishing, Flooring Engineered Refurbishment, and Industry. For the seven construction-focused segments, Sika produces products ranging from sealants, adhesives, and tapes to spray foams and coatings, among many others. The Industry market focuses on a range of solutions (including structural adhesives and sealants) for automotive and commercial vehicle assembly.

Sika again recorded strong growth in 2023, recording increased net sales. The company also reported an increase in number of employees of 21.1%. Sika reported approximately CHF 11.24 billion (approximately $13.4 billion) in net sales, representing an increase of 7.1% year-over-year. (Specific adhesives/sealants-related sales and other details are not available.)

The company reports its financial results primarily according to key regions: EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), Americas, and Asia-Pacific, as well as a Global Business segment that targets the automotive industry. All segments saw sales increase in 2023: EMEA, 14.8% to CHF 4.499 billion (~ $5.3 billion); Americas, 14.9% to CHF 3.424 billion (~ $4.1 billion); Asia-Pacific, 15.1% to CHF 2.474 billion (~$ 2.9 billion); and Global Business, 10% to CHF 842 million (~ $1.0 billion).

Worldwide, Sika has approximately 33,547 employees, approximately 400 manufacturing facilities, and subsidiaries in 101 countries. The company had R&D centers worldwide, with more than 1,780 employees working in research and development.

NOTES: In May 2023, Sika closed the acquisition of MBCC Group Mannheim, Germany, after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals. The company reports that the transaction strengthens Sika’s range of products and services across the entire construction life cycle and across all regions. To close the transaction and to comply with regulatory requirements, Sika sold MBCC Group’s chemical admixtures assets in the UK, the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand to the international private equity firm Cinven. The business now acquired by Sika generated sales of CHF 2.1 billion in 2022, employs 6,200 people and operates in over 60 countries and 95 production facilities.

The company also acquired Thiessen Team USA, a U.S. manufacturer of shotcrete and grouting products for the mining industry within the United States, and announced it has agreed to acquire Chema, a leading manufacturer of tile setting materials in Peru. At the end of 2023, the company announced the purchase of a 30% stake in Concria Oy, a Finnish startup company specializing in highly innovative concrete floors. In April of this year, the company announced its acquisition of Kwik Bond Polymers LLC, a manufacturer of polymer systems for the refurbishment of concrete infrastructure.

Opening image courtesy of Sika AG.