History of Sika Roofing
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.
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® |