1910: It all starts with Sika-1 and the Gotthard Tunnel
Foundation of Sika
Kaspar Winkler was driven by his entrepreneurial spirit when he laid the cornerstone of our company in 1910. He invented Sika-1, a quick-setting waterproofing admixture for mortar, which was used to waterproof the Gotthard Tunnel. It enabled the Swiss railway company to electrify the important connection between Northern and Southern Europe.
Innovation met demand
Kaspar Winkler recognized an upcoming global need for his groundbreaking admixtures and launched subsidiaries around the world. Already in the 1930s, 15 Sika subsidiaries in Europe, USA, Argentina, Brazil and Japan established new construction chemicals markets.
After very difficult first years, the breakthrough came when the Swiss Federal Railways ran successful trials using Sika to waterproof the tunnels of the Gotthard section. This became necessary so that electric trains could be used. The Swiss National Railways waterproofed 67 tunnels with Sika during the following years.
Expansions
After this success Kaspar Winkler tried the potential abroad. He realized that he needed a manager with international experience and hired a Director for Foreign Operations, who founded subsidiaries in England, Italy and France between 1926 and 1928.
However, the director didn't just want to be an employee - he wanted to be a partner. Through clever arrangements he made it impossible that he be fired and the parties later litigated for years until the company was again divided by arbitration in 1932.
In 1928 Winkler’s son-in-law, Fritz Schenker, had joined the firm’s executive board and pursued worldwide expansion. By 1935 Sika had a presence in Europe, South America and in Asia.
Times were hard during World War II, but Sika companies succeeded to continued their work.
With the entry of Romuald Burkard into the firm, a second generation change was initiated in Switzerland. Between his entry into the company in 1953 and the death of his father-in-law Fritz Schenker in 1971, Burkard gradually took over the management of the group. Sika was later listed on the Swiss stock exchange.
However, when the economy overheated in the late 60s, Sika slid into a serious crisis. Sika was only just able to avoid insolvency.
The severe recession in the 70s strengthened the Sika Spirit. It was coined in these years and stood for how employees felt personal responsibility for their work and the company as a whole as well as the solidarity and optimistic attitude of the employees towards the company. The Sika Spirit still makes up the DNA of the company today.
With the versatile adhesive Sikaflex, Sika opened up a new field of business in the 1980s: the automotive industry. In the process Sika diverged from its traditional construction chemistry path. With Sikaflex and the newly introduced mortars, Sika was on the right track into the future.
Another important product group that was able to withstand the recession was "Renovation and Maintenance". In order to reduce dependence on the construction industry in the future, the product range of "Renovation and Maintenance" was specifically expanded. A market field that is still being pursued today.
Sika experienced its decade of most rapid growth. Between 1990 and 1995 alone, 16 new subsidiaries were founded. Turnover increased from CHF 2 billion to more than CHF 4.6 billion, a significant portion of which was contributed by the 36 companies acquired between 2000 and 2008. During that same period, the workforce increased from 8,000 to 13,000.
From basement to roof
Since 2000, Sika summarizes its core competencies in bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing and protecting. From basement to roof, Sika intended to become the market leader in these technological disciplines.
