Sika has agreed to acquire Colauto Adesivos e Massas Ltda, a manufacturer of adhesives and sealants as well as acoustic damping and structural reinforcement elements for Latin America’s fast-growing automotive and transportation industry.
Colauto is one of the leading suppliers of chemical process materials for the automotive industry in Latin America. Colauto generated sales of CHF 40 million in 2010 with a workforce of approximately 250.

Colauto was founded as a family enterprise in 1962. The company operates a production site in São Paulo and generated sales of CHF 40 million in 2010 with a workforce of approximately 250. Colauto enjoys an excellent reputation in Brazil as a customer- and solution-led company with a strong market position in Latin America.

For Colauto’s present owners Sika is the ideal partner. In Sika, Colauto has found a strong, international owner which fully leverages its capabilities and long term perspectives in the global automotive industry.

Latin America’s automotive industry has a high growth potential and the significance of Brazil as car manufacturing country continues to increase. Through the acquisition of Colauto, Sika will gain access to this key growth market and be able to expand its global position.

Sika’s Head of Automotive Global Thomas Hasler said Brazil is currently the world’s sixth-largest automotive-producing country. Sika’s customers here expect a broad cost-effective product portfolio containing the latest technologies for all car segments, said Hasler.

The acquisition of Colauto will enable Sika to leverage the penetration of this growth market with its broad range of products and technologies. The automotive industry is increasingly focusing on Brazil as a development base for global platforms designed for the emerging markets.

With its production site in São Paulo, Colauto will become the new development center for Sika Automotive in Latin America, added Hasler.

Sika is a global company with more than 120 production and marketing subsidiaries in 74 countries. The firm is a globally integrated company supplying specialty chemicals and application knowledge.

Sika is a leader in processing materials used in sealing, bonding, damping, reinforcing and protecting load-bearing structures.  Sika’s product range features high-quality concrete admixtures, specialty mortars, sealants and adhesives, damping and reinforcing materials, structural strengthening systems, industrial flooring as well as roofing and waterproofing systems.  The company has approximately 13,482 employees worldwide.

30th August 2011