14 • October 2016 www.concreteproducts.com
Sika Corp. has acquired Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based FRC Industries, citing
it as the fastest growing concrete reinforcing fiber producer in the
U.S. Founded in 2001, the company has a full synthetic polypropylene
product line and serves markets east of the Mississippi River.
FRC Industries will accelerate growth and further establish Sika
North America as a "comprehensive and premier supplier of trusted
solutions for all aspects of construction," management notes. The
acquisition provides an opportunity to solidify the company's place in
the concrete market as a fiber manufacturer, they add, and augment a
deep portfolio that includes high performance polycarboxylate water
reducers, waterproofing admixtures, and integral coloring agents.
FRC Industries is Lyndhurst, N.J.-based Sika's second concrete
additives deal this year, following the March acquisition of L.M. Sco-
field Co., the premier pigment and flatwork products brand. Sika
officials underscore "a clear commitment to bringing value to con-
crete producers" and execution of a strategy to provide a full line
of construction products from "roof to basement." The strategy has
seen the company realize double-digit growth in the past few years,
owing to acquisitions plus heritage business expansion, including new
admixture and mortar plants.
GLOBAL MORTAR CENTER
As Sika Corp. expands its North American footprint, parent Sika AG
is likewise investing closer to its home base in Switzerland. It most
recently opened a Rosendahl, Germany, technology center focusing
on mortar product development. The $6 million, 3,000-square-meter
center joins an existing facility of Schönox, which the company
acquired in 2013.
With a headcount of about 30, it will have group-wide responsi-
bility for the development of a) mortar-based installation products
in the rapidly-growing interior finishing sector; and, b) specialty
mortars, particularly grout and concrete repair products geared to
markets including bridges and renewable energy structures. The
expanded site also contains an industrial building for applications
engineering and seminar rooms for customer product and applica-
tion training.
NEWS SCOPE
MANUFACTURERS
FRC Industries brings Sika deeper into synthetic fibers
Sika AG is expanding on both sides of the Atlantic.