Sika Launches New Units in Vietnam and Senegal

Swiss construction chemicals firm, Sika, is pushing ahead with the significant expansion of its plant in Bac Ninh in northern Vietnam. A state-of-the-art facility for mortar production has come on stream alongside the existing production of concrete admixtures.

More stringent building regulations in Vietnam require the use of ready-mixed mortar, which is one of Sika’s strongest product lines. As a result ready-mixed mortar is gaining market share, unlike mortar products that are mixed on the building site. In addition to more stringent regulatory requirements in the construction sector, Vietnam is experiencing a massive construction boom.

Mr. Mike Campion, Regional Manager Asia/Pacific, said, “The new mortar facility in Bac Ninh is a targeted investment in the expansion of our production capacity around the Hanoi metropolitan region. It enables us to deliver significantly faster growth in northern Vietnam and optimise our cost structure, with the elimination of long transport distances.”

First factory in Senegal

Sika is also continuing to expand its production capacity in West Africa with the opening of a concrete admixture factory in Senegal. The new plant is the first in the country. Sika plans to expand operations in the future with the addition of a mortar production facility. With a total of 19 national subsidiaries and 20 factories, Sika has a strong presence in Africa.

Mr. Ivo Schädler, Regional Manager EMEA, commented, “Senegal is one of the fastest growing West African countries, and we are gaining an early foothold in these growth markets. Large-scale investment projects in infrastructure, transport, energy and water plus recently discovered oil reserves are making a crucial contribution to the emerging country’s development. Our growth strategy in Africa has paid off. Over the last five years we have increased sales by more than 18% per year.”