A SR540 MILLION ($144 million) construction chemical factory in Rabigh, to the north of Jeddah, will set the ball rolling on Sika Saudi Arabia Company’s ambitious plans to strengthen its market presence in the region within the next three years.

“We are aiming to increase our market share to 25 per cent within the next three years and become one of the leading suppliers of construction chemicals in the kingdom,” says Mark Hardaker, general manager.
The opening of the state-of-the-art factory in the fourth quarter of this year will be a major milestone in the company’s history in Saudi Arabia which dates back to 1995. Located close to the new King Abdullah Economic City, the factory will have a training and technology centre, as well as laboratories for research and development and quality control.
In preparation for its opening, Sika has formulated a range of new, value-for-money products, based on locally available raw materials which it is now starting to roll out.
Elaborating on the product range, Hardaker says: “Our new concrete admixtures will provide concrete producers with high-value products based on Swiss technology, useful for self-compacting concrete and precasters.

“We have also started to supply and technically support sealants, adhesives and bonding materials for the bus, truck and rail industries this year though our Industry Business Unit.”
The new factory aims to capitalise on the positive trends in the Saudi construction market, which has shown signs of steady recovery this year and is expected to return to its robust rate of growth in 2011 and 2012, according to Hardaker.
While the global economic slowdown has meant that Sika’s business has not grown as dramatically as expected, it has not significantly altered the company’s plans for the future, including the new factory, he says.
“In fact, Sika’s business in Saudi Arabia grew appreciably in 2009, showing the highest growth in the entire GCC region, despite the worldwide recession,” he adds.
Commenting on the construction market in Saudi Arabia during this period, he says: “Although projects in the Eastern Province were stopped or significantly slowed by the falling oil price, there is every indication that these projects are now coming back on line.

“The Saudi government continued to invest throughout this difficult period, especially in the Riyadh area, where Sika had its highest growth, Margins tightened during the year and collections continue to be a major challenge throughout the kingdom.”
Sika had been operating in the kingdom as Sumam Chemical Trading Company since 1995. In February last year, Sika Saudi Arabia Company was formerly established as a local company, managed under the locally-based IMEA (India, Mideast and Africa) with its regional headquarters based in Dubai, UAE.
The company’s offices in Saudi Arabia are located in Jeddah, Rabigh, Riyadh, Dammam and Jubail, with distributors in other cities around the kingdom.
Sika has been supplying materials and solutions for contractors and applicators involved in mega projects in Saudi Arabia such as Princess Nora University and King Abdullah Financial District. “We began supplying our products in 2008 and will continue throughout the life of these projects,” says Hardaker.

Sika is also an active partner for Saudi Arabia’s new infrastructure projects such as the railways, power and water treatment plants.
Over the last couple of years, Sika products have contributed to reinforcing many projects such as road bridges, the repair and strengthening of manholes and electrical substations under the control of Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) using state-of-the-art strengthening techniques comprising composite sections based on carbon-fibre technology. “This provided an excellent quality of strengthening with value engineering technique,” says Hardaker.
“During the coming year, the company intends to increase its market share, especially in cementitious products, liquid admixtures and epoxy-based products,” he says. “We continue to hire technically competent sales and technical staff and prove to our customers that we are fully capable of providing the support and service they need to complete the job,” he says.
Sika has been developing construction products and system solutions since its inception in1910, to meet requirements and standards, optimise the construction process and the life cycle of structures. Today, it is considered among the market and technology leaders in construction chemistry and a reliable partner for economic construction of durable structures.
Besides the corporate brand, Sika, it has 575 trademarks such as Sikaflex, Sika ViscoCrete or SikaBond, and 13,147 trademark registrations in 161 countries.
“Products launched over the past five years account for 34 per cent of its net sales,” he says. “Sika develops solutions that make future-oriented, top-notch quality construction doable, optimise customers’ processes and lower costs.”
“We represent the most competent partner for construction, from underground to the top of a structure, from inside to outside, from new construction to protection and refurbishment,” he says.
With a worldwide presence extending across 73 countries, the company has 113 production and marketing companies with 12,369 employees working for it.
Hardaker attributes the company’s success to the fact that the company offers quality products quickly across the world. “Supplying products and services of guaranteed quality expeditiously anywhere in the world is the key success factor that enabled Sika to achieve above-average growth rates in difficult markets as well as execute a targeted entry into new markets,” he says.
Sika provides concrete producers with cost-optimised solutions adapted to the cement and the application. These solutions must be adjusted individually in readymix concrete works, on construction sites or in concrete element precast factories.
Its Contractors Business Unit covers waterproofing, flooring, joint sealing, wood floor bonding, structural bonding, concrete repair and protection, concrete strengthening, grouting, anchoring, corrosion and fire protection of steel structures and roofing.
Besides product and system supply, Sika’s sales and technical services teams are available for direct customer support throughout every phase of the construction process, that is, in initial planning, detailed design, during actual on-site execution, completion and handover, as well as in maintenance throughout the intended service life.