L-R: Dr Paul Haelg, Miss Layla Abbas, Maria Theresa, Ashraf Wahib

KUWAIT: Sika Arabia, a joint venture with Saudi Sumam Chemicals, held a gala dinner to celebrate 20 years of success established across the GCC countries on Friday, 21 October 2016 at Art Rotana, Bahrain. The dinner also honored 27 employees who had dedicated 15 years or more of service to the company.

The dinner was attended by Etienne Thevoz, Swiss Ambassador to Qatar and Bahrain and Paul Haelg, Group Chairman and Abdullaziz Zaidan, Sika Arabia Chairman and other distinguished guests  from the construction industry.  More than 150 guests were present at the event.

Speaking at the event, Ashraf Wahib, Area Manager GCC, said, "Over the past 20 years, Sika Arabia has established itself as an industry leader in specialty chemical products and industrial construction materials. Today, we are celebrating a key milestone for Sika Arabia in the GCC, as the largest producer of construction chemicals across the Middle East and Africa.  Our strategy for the next five years is to double our turnover both by accelerating organic growth and through acquisitions. We are confident, that our excellent network with a strong supply chain presence in the region will enable us to achieve our vision and satisfy the growing demands of our customers."

"On behalf of our Board of Directors and the management team, I would like to thank all our employees, whose remarkable contributions have made it possible to achieve our stated mission, vision and values.  At Sika, our employees are our greatest asset, and we are proud of our long-term employees and their families who were honored tonight for their commitment and dedication to the success of the organization, and we look forward to working with them for many more years to come."

Sika Arabia, has a highly skilled, innovative and diverse workforce. More than 40 per cent of its employees are local nationals, with a number of them holding key positions, and contributing efficiently to the robust and dynamic growth of the business.

Sika Arabia continues to bolster its investments in technology and production facilities within the GCC. Currently, the organization has three factories in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, UAE and in Manama, Bahrain, with two additional plants in the pipeline.

Sika expanded its position in the Middle East by establishing a new national subsidiary in Kuwait in 2016. The creation of this 94th subsidiary worldwide marks a further step forward in the implementation of Sika's growth strategy, which aims to expand the Group's international presence to 100 national subsidiaries by 2018.

Kuwait's construction market is set to grow at a tremendous pace, with investments of just under US$ 30 billion in the focus areas of real estate and infrastructure. Key construction projects at national level include an airport extension and upgrade of the metropolitan transportation network, which alone account for a total investment of $ 13 billion.

Sika Kuwait is perfectly positioned to supply high quality concrete admixtures and refurbishment products directly to customers in Kuwait and to benefit from the country's booming construction market. Its products are already being used in the construction of a new university and several road building projects.