In 1910 Austrian born Kaspar Winkler laid the foundations for SIKA by registering an enterprise, in his own name, in Switzerland. Then, in 1911, Winkler recorded Kaspar Winkler & Company in the Swiss commercial register. The purpose of this new company was the fabrication and distribution of chemical-technical building articles. Winkler worked himself up from poverty to become a successful entrepreneur, and by the 1920s was already engaged in founding subsidiaries abroad. Sika Ltd was formed as a private limited company in the UK in September 1926. Mr B. Geen who, after a visit to Kaspar Winkler & Co (now SIKA AG) in Switzerland, decided to form the company whose sole purpose would be to sell Sika products in England. At the end of 1927 Kaspar Winkler became directly involved for the first time in the United Kingdom when Akis Chemical Co. Ltd was incorporated on 23rd December to manufacture Sika products here. A factory was established in Hyde Way (later maps and directories show a move to Broadwater Road). It was at this point that the Swiss presence was established in this country and it is this same company, having changed its name to Sika Ltd in 1969, which is still trading today. The Trust is grateful to SIKA AG for supplying this information.