The iconic AMP building in the heart of Circular Quay, overlooking Sydney Harbour, was built in 1962. While most buildings from the 1960s face the wrecking ball, the AMP building experienced a unique reinvention. Between 2018 and 2021, it underwent a transformative
redevelopment, becoming a modern, twisting, multi-angled and totally unique building called Quay Quarter Tower.
It’s the world’s first upcycled building, retaining nearly 70 per cent of the original structure. “Rather than demolish the entire building, the exterior was shaved down and repurposed,” says Warren May, national distribution manager at Sika Australia. “The project used an enormous amount of our carbon fibre products—1.5 kilometres of SikaCarbodur S laminates on the main internal core and more than 400 individual Sika CarboShear Links to tie the core sections together.”
CSS partner Sika Australia is predominantly a specialty chemicals company. Its systems and products for bonding, dampening, reinforcing and protection support construction right across the building sector.
LONG REACH
Sika is a Swiss company started by Kaspar Winkler in 1910 when he invented a fast-setting, waterproofing product called Sika-1. It was successfully used to waterproof the Gotthard Tunnel that connects Northern and Southern Europe, and the business grew from there.
Now in 102 countries with more than 400 factories, Sika was established in Australia in 1976, supplying directly to contractors. Today, its products are distributed across most hardware and building supply stores, along with industrial suppliers such as the CSS group.
“You may not always see our products, but Sika is used in residential and commercial buildings, mining, automotive, industrial manufacturing and infrastructure projects,” says May. “Whether you’re working on a major construction site or repairing things
around the home, our customers are getting the best products trusted by industry professionals.”
In Australia, Sika has around 300 employees including technicians, engineers and customer service teams based in Australia. Sika offers everything from grouts to anchors for wind farms to renders to admixtures and waterproofing. Australian customers have access to
thousands of Sika products globally.
“Our hero product in Australia is Sikaflex 11FC+, an all-in-one adhesive and sealant,” says May. “We also manufacture construction adhesives, polyurethane, and a variety of sealants along with fast setting mortars for heavy infrastructure and some serious
waterproofing. Our products are also used extensively in the automotive industry.”
SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS
Sika is committed to sustainability and to driving the sustainable development and performance of its products. At the same time, it ensures its products perform as expected, unaffected by green initiatives. Reliability is a necessity when Sika products are used on large jobs and
infrastructure projects. Globally, Sika has a strategy to be net zero by 2028.
“We engage in the three areas: people, planet and solutions,” says May. “We have introduced lightweight glass technology to cement and cementitious products like tile adhesive. Where a standard bag was 20 kilos, we now have a 13.5-kilo bag that gives the same volume so less is used. In cases that are difficult to make more environmentally friendly, we address sustainability by making the product last longer—up to 100 years longer in some cases.”
Sika also has pragmatic solutions to sustainability in regard to packaging. Powders come in bags with recyclable plastic liners. Sika has developed and launched a bag that’s fully recyclable. It has also introduced plastic buckets that are made with 50 per cent recycled material. With all sustainability measures, every product must maintain its high performance while incorporating more sustainable practices and materials. It’s an innovative solution to the problem.
FUTURE GROWTH
While Sika has a clear commitment to sustainable growth, it’s just as committed to increasing the company value. “One of our pillars is ensuring market penetration,” says May. “We want to ensure that people can buy Sika products everywhere. We enter more markets by
utilising innovation and sustainability. Acquiring other companies is another way we see significant growth. Recently, we acquired the Singaporean company Elmich that design and make sustainable rooftop gardens. They provide large-scale garden systems for commercial buildings and the concept is available in Australia”.
Sika prides itself in providing solutions to bonding, sealing, reinforcing, strengthening and protecting. Whether it’s carbon fibre to strengthen bridges, anchor wind farms to the ocean floor, provide a bit of wall filler for a home renovator or supply waterproofing for building joints, Sika has a product to fit.
“If Sika is famous for one thing, it’s that our products work,” says May. “Our logo contains the phrase ‘Building Trust’ and that’s at the core of our company. Our focus is always on our products, our people, our culture and the future.
Likewise, our commitment to quality products and sustainability is ingrained in everything we do. We are working hard to make the world a better place with products that are sustainable but retain the same reliability and quality. The only exceptions are when we exceed those
expectations.”
