Sika AG

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Sika AG

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN CH0418792922
founding 1910
Seat Baar , SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland 
management Paul Schuler
( Management )
Paul Johann Hälg
( Chairman of the Board )
Number of employees 17,419
sales 8,109.2 million CHF
Branch Chemical industry
Website www.sika.com
As of May 8, 2020

Paul Schuler, CEO Sika AG

The Sika AG , headquartered in Baar , in Switzerland , is a 1910 established, global company of specialty chemicals. Sika's sales organization is geared towards eight target markets: Building Finishing, Concrete, Waterproofing, Roofing, Flooring, Sealing & Bonding, Refurbishment and Industry . Sika is represented in 100 countries and has 300 production sites worldwide.

Sika AG is a holding company that comprises the national companies, Sika Technology AG (research and development) and Sika Services AG (cross-company functions that support the national companies worldwide). The national companies are responsible for local market development, e. B. Sika Switzerland AG, Sika Germany GmbH and Sika Austria GmbH.

sales

The annual turnover in 2019 was CHF 8,109.2 million. The gross profit increased to CHF 4,344.0 million (2018: CHF 3,751.7 million), which corresponds to a gross margin of 53.6%. The net profit was CHF 758.5 ​​million.

Market fields

Sika is active in the following market fields in the construction sector:

In the industrial sector, Sika is active as a supplier in the following market areas:

  • Automotive supply industry
  • railroad
  • shipbuilding
  • Construction of solar systems
  • Mechanical engineering and household appliances (e.g. dishwasher )

history

The company was founded in 1910 by Kaspar Winkler as Kaspar Winkler & Cie . Winkler invented products to protect and clean granite (Conservado, Purigo), and also developed a product to accelerate the setting and hardening of mortar and concrete , which also seals.

In 1912 the first subsidiaries were founded in Germany. A lack of managers and an insufficient network made further expansion difficult . After hiring a director to take care of the expansion, companies were founded in England, Italy and France from 1926 to 1928.

In 1918, successful tests were carried out by the Swiss Railways (SBB) and Kaspar Winkler for the sealing and the electrical operation of the Gotthard Railway that this made possible . As a result, 67 tunnels (59,000 m² vaults) were sealed using a mixture of Portland cement mortar and Sika-1 . The great success of this product led to the company name being changed to Sika , an abbreviation for the main components of the product: silicon, potassium and / or calcium.

Winkler's son-in-law Fritz Schenker continued to expand the company from 1935 onwards. Before the Second World War, Sika was represented in Europe, North and South America and Asia. In 1971 Romuald Burkard took over management of the company. The crisis of the late 1960s brought Sika to the verge of bankruptcy .

In 1980 the one-component polyurethane adhesive "Sikaflex" was introduced into the automotive industry . In the 1990s, Sika withdrew from building robots .

In Kaspar Winkler's birthplace Thuringia in Vorarlberg , the company founder was honored with a ceremony for the 100th anniversary and a street sign was unveiled in his honor.

In 1990 there were numerous complaints about an industrial flooring product in Germany, resulting in damage, loss of image for Sika and claims for damages amounting to millions.

In 2002 “Sika Finanz AG” was renamed “Sika AG”. “Sika Technology AG” was formed to summarize the development and research activities of Sika, and “Sika Services AG” was founded for cross-company functions such as marketing, production and logistics. Sika Schweiz AG thus became a subsidiary whose sole function is to cultivate the national market.

In the same year a case of fraud occurred at Sika Taiwan . As a result, Walter Grüebler (CEO between 2000 and 2004) returned the subsidiary's funds to the holding company.

In 2012 Paul Hälg, CEO of the Datwyler Group , was appointed Chairman of the Board of Sika AG. Jan Jenisch, long-standing employee and previous head of Sika's Asia business, replaced Ernst Bärtschi as CEO.

On December 5, 2014, the management first announced that the family shareholders, who hold a majority of 52.4% of the votes , wanted to sell the company to the French Saint-Gobain group . The takeover price for the capital share of 16.1% of the family shareholders is far higher than the corresponding market value of the other shares, as a high premium is paid for taking over the controlling majority. Because Sika AG has a so-called opting-out clause in the articles of association, no takeover offer has to be made to the other shareholders. In response, the Ethios Foundation is mobilizing the other shareholders (including the couple Bill and Melinda Gates via a foundation ) to remove this opting-out clause from the company's articles of association at a planned extraordinary shareholders' meeting. According to a report by Peter Nobel commissioned by the Board of Directors , the holding company and the intended acquirer, the Saint-Gobain group , should already form a group. Accordingly, based on the Articles of Association, the Board of Directors could limit their voting rights to 5%. The family holding's request to convene an extraordinary general meeting is therefore doomed to failure, since according to the Code of Obligations a share of at least 10% of the share capital is required.

Until the end of 2016, Saint-Gobain's hostile takeover attempt remained unsuccessful. Paul Schuler, long-standing employee and previous head of the EMEA region, replaced Jan Jensich as CEO on July 1, 2017.

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Annual Report 2019 (PDF)
  2. ↑ Target markets target markets. Sika AG, accessed on May 8, 2020 (English).
  3. ^ Company history of Sika AG
  4. ↑ Dense and Lasting - 100 Years of Sika . Company chronicle for the anniversary
  5. ↑ Article in Taipei Times , published August 12, 2009.
  6. ↑ Article about Ernst Bärtschi (CEO of Sika AG until 2011) on SF video portal  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.srf.ch  
  7. ↑ Sika wants to provide information at an investor presentation, Finanz & Wirtschaft , December 17, 2014
  8. ↑ Bill Gates fights against Sika takeover on May 18, 2015
  9. ↑ Ethos requests the deletion of the opting-out
  10. ↑ Conflict over Sika - disempowerment of the majority shareholder, NZZ of January 26, 2015
  11. ↑ Saint-Gobain is confident of victory in the Sika fight . Handelszeitung , November 5, 2016; accessed on November 11, 2016