Management Changes at Sika in North America

LYNDHURST, N.J., Aug. 3, 2004 -- The Board of Directors of Sika AG, Baar, Switzerland, has appointed William E. Loven to head North America as Regional Manager, and Sika Corporation USA as President & CEO effective January 1, 2005. In this position he will also serve as a member of Group Management of Sika AG, Switzerland.

Enrico Tissi, who held these positions for the last eight years, has elected to step down by the end of this year. He will continue to serve Sika as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the U.S. subsidiary. Tissi was instrumental in growing Sika Corporation remarkably during this period. He is credited with building new R&D facilities in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, and Madison Heights, Michigan, and also with constructing new plants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Grandview, Missouri, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Since joining the Industry Division of Sika in 2000, Loven has reorganized the division and grown the business considerably. He has been instrumental in bringing new technologies into the company's product range fulfilling the objective to make Sika a full range supplier for its defined market fields.

William E. Loven has an MBA in Finance from Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He started his professional career in 1978 at Henkel in technical and sales responsibilities followed by a General Manager position at ITW Plexus in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA. William E. Loven joined Sika Corporation, USA, in 2000 as Senior Vice President of the Industry Products Division.

Sika Corporation, based in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, is a leading supplier of specialty chemical products and industrial materials serving construction and industrial markets including transportation, marine, and automotive. Its technologies are focused on sealing, bonding, damping, reinforcing and protecting. Sika's product lines include concrete admixtures, specialty mortars, epoxy resins, structural strengthening systems, industrial flooring, sealants, adhesives, specialty acoustic and reinforcing materials.

Sika Corporation is a subsidiary of Sika AG, Baar, Switzerland. Sika has annual sales of approximately US $1.8 billion (CHF 2.3 billion), over 8,500 employees and operations in more than 66 countries. Visit the Sika Corporation website at http://www.sikacorp.com/ .

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