KLANG: Sika Malaysia, a leading global company in development and production of specialty chemicals for the construction and industrial sectors, has pledged its commitment to sustainability and pioneering innovation as it moves towards its goal of achieving net-zero emission by 2050.
Sika Malaysia general manager Francisco Retondo, in an exclusive interview with SunBiz, said one of the major efforts is reducing the carbon footprints of the products that it is manufacturing in Malaysia.
“As carbon emissions of cement are high, Sika Malaysia is replacing that with supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) starting from the last three years and has set the replacement at 60% as of June 2024, as the evolution of that in Malaysia is important,” he added.
Explaining, he said Sika Malaysia is reducing its carbon footprint through the use of SCM and focuses on easy-to-use products for an aging population and decreasing birth rates.
In addition to that, Retondo said, Sika Malaysia is working on replacing all petrol-powered forklifts with electric ones and it has started a pilot trial with solar panels at one of their plants.
“Once we have acquired that, it will set to be the future standard for Sika Malaysia,” he said.
Retondo disclosed that Sika Malaysia is optimistic about the opportunities coming from the semiconductor industry as the company is in a position to provide solutions to meet its needs. “The semiconductor industry will affect us in a very positive way as we have dedicated people only for the semiconductor solutions,” he remarked.
Commenting on the innovations that Sika Malaysia is focusing on, Retondo disclosed that it is placing due attention and consideration to global warming concerns so as to ensure the longevity of its products.
“The roofing solutions of Sika Malaysia are fully reflective, which allows everything that is under the roof to be cooler. Our products are made to last 50 years which have played an important role in reducing carbon footprints,” he said.
In addition, Retondo mentioned that acquisition is part of Sika Malaysia’s DNA, where acquiring companies is part of its growth strategy. The company has acquired ParexDavco and MBCC, which are global businesses.
“Through the acquisition of ParexDavco, Sika Malaysia emerges as the number one company in the domestic ‘building-finishing’ business, while MBCC has Ucrete technology, which uses a unique polyurethane resin technology that gives flooring exceptional resistance, and only Malaysia and the United Kingdom are able to produce that,” he said.
He added that the aim is to double the size of the company, thus doubling the business in Malaysia, as the company’s investments are on the right track.
“We are working closely on innovations, talent acquisitions and the development of our people, and the vision is to double our business here, in the next five years,” Retondo said.
