Sika Automotive Names Drs. Hoefflin and Kow to New Research and Development Positions

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich., Oct. 8, 2004 -- Sika Automotive has announced Dr. Frank Hoefflin will assume the position of Vice President, Research and Development for Sika's Madison Heights facility and Dr. Cheong Kow will assume the position of Sika Fellow of Acoustic and Material Science. Steve Rosenberg, Senior Vice President of Sika R&D announced the new positions.

In his new position, Dr. Hoefflin will assume full management of all Industry and Automotive development programs. Dr. Hoefflin joined Sika Corp. in September 2003 as Director R&D for Automotive. Prior to joining Sika, he had acquired over seven years experience in technology management, most recently as Global Technology Manager for Exatex a division of GE/Bayer JV. Frank has his Doctorate in Polymer Chemistry/Material Science from the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Dr. Kow will now be in charge of building a Technology Group in Madison Heights for Sika Worldwide. Dr. Kow joined Sika Corp. March 1999, as Director of Research and Development in Madison Heights and was appointed Vice President of R&D Madison Heights January 2000. He has a broad background of technology experience and attained his Doctorate in Polymer Science at the University of Akron.

"These changes in the R&D organization in Madison Heights will ensure that Sika Corporation continues its tradition of bringing innovative solutions to our customers," stated Mr. Rosenberg.

Sika Automotive, based in Madison Heights, MI, a division of Sika Corporation, is an industry leader in the development and production of high performance acoustic, bonding, reinforcing and sealing systems. Sika Automotive provides automobile manufacturers with proven material, application engineering and validation expertise to improve interior sound quality and structural performance in vehicles worldwide. Sika Automotive optimizes cost effective, complete solutions in its dedicated, state of the art, Acoustic Test Facility, located in Madison Heights, MI. Visit the Sika Automotive website http://www.sikaautomotive.com/ .

Sika Corporation is a leading supplier of specialty chemical products and industrial materials serving construction and industrial markets including transportation, marine, and automotive. 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 66 countries. Visit the Sika website at http://www.sika.com/ .