TANZANIA – Sika, a Swiss multinational specialty chemical company, has moved into a new site in the East African country of Tanzania and is now locally producing mortars in addition to concrete admixtures. The site also offers space for further growth in operations.
Sika has likewise increased the size of its plant in Western Africa’s Ivory Coast: A site that is now double the size compared to before is home to new warehousing capacities and offices, as well as to laboratories and additional manufacturing facilities.
With these investments, Sika has positioned itself for further dynamic growth in the two African countries.
The significant expansion of production and warehousing zones at the Dar es Salaam and Abidjan plants marks another important milestone in the implementation of Sika’s growth strategy on the African continent. Demand for Sika solutions is rising sharply.
The primary growth drivers are increasing industrialization, rapid population growth, and a strong shift toward urbanization accompanied by significant needs in terms of infrastructure. While Africa has a current population of around one billion, this is set to double by 2040, opening up huge business potential for Sika.
The recent expansion in production in Tanzania allows Sika to now supply customers with locally produced mortars and tile adhesives in addition to concrete admixtures. This eliminates the need for long transport routes and ensures rapid and reliable deliveries to customers.
The site extension in Ivory Coast will allow the company to double production capacities in tile adhesives and repair mortars while simultaneously increasing warehousing capacities. Sika also intends to supply the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Mali, and Sierra Leone from the site in Abidjan.
“With Sika subsidiaries in 18 African countries and 22 plants on the continent, we are investing in the long term and sending a strong signal in terms of our commitment to sustainable business activities in the region,” Ivo Schaedler, Regional Manager EMEA, said.
“In our two expanded sites, we are producing high-value solutions used in major infrastructure projects.
“Examples of such projects are the Metro project and port expansion in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan as well as the Standard Gauge Railway and the Julius Nyerere hydropower station in Tanzania.”
The construction industries in both Tanzania and Ivory Coast are being boosted by public-sector investment in major infrastructure projects. Average annual growth in excess of 10% is forecast for Tanzania’s construction industry between now and 2025, while the growth figure for Ivory Coast is put at 6%.
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