History of Sika Roofing

Research and Development Centre

It was more than 60 years ago that Sika launched into the UK roofing business. This began with the acquisition of Sika Sarnafil® - already established as the UK market leader of Single-Ply Membranes. We continue to innovate the proven performance of our membranes and have established the first UK Silver Certified single ply membrane in Cradle to Cradle, Sarnafil® Advanced Technology

Continuing to innovate and grow within the UK flat roofing market, Sika acquired UK manufacturer, Sika Liquid Plastics, the market leader in Cold-Applied Liquid Waterproofing technologies. Through this, Sika acquired the manufacturing plant in Preston, Lancashire where the research and the development of our innovative cold-applied waterproofing systems for roofs, walkways, balconies and terraces progresses for our Global roofing customers.

Roofing Solutions

Sika understood the need for a Bituminous offering for our customers to enable us  to provide solutions for all roof types and project requirements. To ensure the same premium products alongside our Single-Ply and lLquid Applied Systems, Sika acquired the largest bituminous manufacturer in Europe and created a new product range, SikaBit®, for the UK market. As our Bituminous offering in different countries continued to grow, SikaBit® was rebranded in 2022 to SikaShield® for all Bituminous products by Sika.

Today Sika can offer all flat roof waterproofing solutions for both new-build and refurbishment projects, depending on the projects and clients requirements and following the latest building regulations. 

If you’d like to discuss which of our technologies would be best suited for your product, get in touch with your local Area Technical Manager.

Sika Roofing Timeline

1958 a company called Sarna is formed in Switzerland to develop polymeric products (Sarnafil®)
1962 Sarna chemists develop the first thermoplastic membrane reinforced with fabric, leading to a number of industrial applications and an ever-growing roofing membrane market. This tear-resistant thermoplastic membrane was patented and trademarked “Sarnafil®
1963 Liquid Plastics is founded
1978 Sika Index is founded, specialising in advanced bituminous technology (SikaBit®)
1985 Decothane launched in the UK (Liquid Plastics)
2001 QA Contractor Programme (Liquid Plastics)
2005 Inverted Roofs and Balcony systems (Liquid Plastics)
2008 BUR receives world's first BBA Certificate (Liquid Plastics)
2009 Sika acquires Liquid Plastics Limited (Liquid Plastics)
2013 Celebration 50 years of Liquid Plastics
2015 Decothane® low-odour systems (Liquid Plastics)
2016 Sikalastic® Rapid Systems (PMMA) (Liquid Plastics)
2017 Sikalastic® STP Systems launched (Liquid Plastics)
2019 Sika Pro-Tecta Metal Roof Solutions (Liquid Plastics)
2019 Sika’s bituminous range is branded ‘SikaBit®’ in the UK and includes Safe2Torch and self-adhered system build ups to meet any project requirement
2020 Sika brings its roofing brands together as The Sika Roofing Team
2022 SikaBit is rebranded globally to SikaShield®