Sika and the building materials industry

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Sika, the specialty chemicals company for the construction and automotive industries, was founded in Zurich in 1910 by Kaspar Winkler as Kaspar Winkler & Co. The company moved its headquarters to Baar in 1971.¹ Some 120 people work at the headquarters in Baar, whereas the group employed 33,707 people worldwide in 2025 and generated revenue of 11.2 billion francs. The headquarters, as one portrait describes it, serves as the switching centre for the company's worldwide expansion.²

Sika is also known for one of the most dramatic corporate governance disputes in recent Swiss history. Between 2014 and 2018, the company's board and management resisted the sale of the controlling stake held by the founding family's holding company to the French group Saint-Gobain, relying on restrictions in the articles of association on the registration of shares. The dispute was litigated before the courts of the canton of Zug and ended in 2018 with a settlement among Sika, the family and Saint- Gobain.³ The case attracted international attention to the courts of Zug, which, as the seat of many listed and unlisted companies, decide a considerable number of disputes in company law.

Notes

Wikipedia (English), "Sika AG", accessed September 2026: founded by Kaspar Winkler in 1910 in Zurich as "Kaspar Winkler & Co."; headquarters in Baar; 33,707 employees and revenue of CHF 11.201 billion in 2025; included in the SMI; Zug in der Welt, "Prägende internationale Grosshandelsfirmen": Sika headquarters relocated to Baar in 1971; about 120 employees in Baar in 2024. ↩
Zug in der Welt, "Prägende internationale Grosshandelsfirmen": Sika described as "Schaltstelle für die weltweite Expansion"; transformation from hidden champion to SMI-listed company. ↩
Source as cited in the printed edition. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

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Sika and the building materials industry

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?