(Reuters) – Sika sees growth opportunities in China’s renovation market and infrastructure construction in the U.S., the Swiss construction chemicals manufacturer’s CEO Thomas Hasler said in an interview with Finanz und Wirtschaft published on Friday.
- Sika has further fragmented its business in China to adapt to the local market, which is not uniform, Hasler said.
- Sika has re-calibrated its business model there, originally very heavily focused on new-build projects, to also focus on the renovation business, especially in already almost saturated markets such as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.
- It sees sustained growth in its automotive business in China, despite the withdrawal of subsidies for EVs.
- Sika sees growth opportunities in U.S. infrastructure construction, which is largely unaffected by President Donald Trump’s aversion to renewables, Hasler added.
- Sika is expanding market share in the construction of traditional infrastructure such as roads or bridges there, while seeing a slump in the commercial construction sector, where reshoring was a significant growth driver until the tariff escalation.
- Hasler deemed data centres “a definite growth driver” as operators want the most secure buildings to avoid disruptions to operations.
- He said the company’s data centres pipeline is full as the sector is booming in Europe and Asia too.
- Sika senses hope for improvement among its customers in markets such as Germany and France due to rising figures for building permits, despite ongoing weakness.
Writing by Linda Pasquini; Editing by Alexander Smith
