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Sika Announces Opening Celebration of Acoustic Test Facility

27 September 1999

Sika Automotive Announces Opening Celebration of Corporate Acoustic Test Facility in Madison Heights, Michigan, September 29

    MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich., Sept. 24 -- Sika Automotive, a
leading supplier of acoustic, bonding and sealing systems to the automotive
industry, announces the opening of its new state of the art technology center
to be held September 29, 1999.
    Called the Sika Corporate Acoustic Test Facility, the $8 million, 30,000
square foot facility allows Sika to test, analyze and optimize specialty
acoustic, bonding and sealing products on full vehicle applications.  This
facility features a comprehensive series of noise and vibration testing
chambers including:

    *  A hemi-anechoic chassis dynamometer to simulate real world driving
conditions with interchangeable road surfaces.  This chamber also has the
capability for wind noise testing with up to a 60 mph wind generated within
the test chamber.
    *  A suite of anechoic and reverberant chambers for test and development
of acoustic materials and their application.
    *  A materials testing lab to support application development and
specification testing.
    *  A sound quality lab with jury evaluation room.  This room gives Sika
the ability to edit, analyze and playback acquired vehicle noise measurements
to evaluate how the noise characteristics are perceived by the customer.
    *  A quiet room with bedplate and carbon monoxide extraction for modal
analysis and other structural testing.
    *  Full size body-in-white bake oven with programmability to simulate
production paint processes.
    *  Computer room for design and analysis of acoustic, bonding and sealing
applications.

    Phil Weber, a former industry consultant on noise and vibration was hired
in July of 1998 as Manager of Automotive Technical Services.  "The OEMs have
been pushing engineering development down to the supplier level," said Weber.
"Sika is making this investment as a commitment to our customers.  By
participating at the early stages of vehicle design and development, the value
Sika provides to the OEM has increased greatly."
    Sika Automotive is an industry leader in the development and production of
high-performance specialty acoustic, bonding and sealing systems.  Sika
Automotive, based in Madison Heights, Michigan is a division of Sika
Corporation based in Zurich, Switzerland.  Sika Automotive provides automobile
manufacturers with proven expertise in effective and economical ways to
improve interior sound quality in vehicles worldwide.