FRC Industries brings Sika deeper into synthetic fibers

Sika Corp. has acquired Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based FRC Industries, citing it as the fastest growing concrete reinforcing fiber producer in the U.S. Founded in 2001, the company has a full synthetic polypropylene product line and serves markets east of the Mississippi River.

FRC Industries will accelerate growth and further establish Sika North America as a “comprehensive and premier supplier of trusted solutions for all aspects of construction,” management notes. The acquisition provides an opportunity to solidify the company’s place in the concrete market as a fiber manufacturer, they add, and augment a deep portfolio that includes high performance polycarboxylate water reducers, waterproofing admixtures, and integral coloring agents.

FRC Industries is Lyndhurst, N.J.-based Sika’s second concrete additives deal this year, following the March acquisition of L.M. Scofield Co., the premier pigment and flatwork products brand. Sika officials underscore “a clear commitment to bringing value to concrete producers” and execution of a strategy to provide a full line of construction products from “roof to basement.” The strategy has seen the company realize double-digit growth in the past few years, owing to acquisitions plus heritage business expansion, including new admixture and mortar plants.

GLOBAL MORTAR CENTER

As Sika Corp. expands its North American footprint, parent Sika AG is likewise investing closer to its home base in Switzerland. It most recently opened a Rosendahl, Germany, technology center focusing on mortar product development. The $6 million, 3,000-square-meter center joins an existing facility of Schönox, which the company acquired in 2013.

With a headcount of about 30, it will have group-wide responsibility for the development of a) mortar-based installation products in the rapidly-growing interior finishing sector; and, b) specialty mortars, particularly grout and concrete repair products geared to markets including bridges and renewable energy structures. The expanded site also contains an industrial building for applications engineering and seminar rooms for customer product and application training.

Sika AG is expanding on both sides of the Atlantic.