Waldkirch, January 15, 2019 – The SICK group, one of the world’s leading producers of sensors and sensor solutions for industrial applications, has completed its takeover of the Chilean joint venture SICK SpA, effective January 2019. The outstanding 50 percent of shares in the joint venture, initiated in June 2014, have been transferred from the owning family Schädler to the SICK Group. SICK becomes the sole owner of SICK SpA as a result of this takeover, and thus enhances its position on the South American market. Former co-owner and Managing Director Anton Schädler will continue to lead the national company SICK SpA and its 45 employees at the Santiago de Chile site, as well as the branch office in Bogotá, Colombia.
SICK has been represented in Chile by the distributor E.i. Schädler y Cía Ltda, owned by the Schädler family and led by Helmut Schädler, since 1987. With the founding of the joint venture in 2014, SICK was not only able to benefit from the company’s many years of solution competence and deep technical expertise, but above all from its excellent reputation and high level of name recognition in the South American market. During the last four years, the former distributor has been successfully assimilated into the SICK Group and developed into a competence center for all Spanish-speaking countries in South America.
“With the acquisition of the outstanding 50 percent of shares in this successful joint venture, SICK is able to strengthen its position in South America for the long term,” explains Markus Vatter, Chief Financial Officer of SICK AG. The national company SICK SpA acts as a central hub for twelve South American countries, and works from here to leverage the market potential in this region, rich in raw materials. This is particularly the case regarding the mining sector, the timber industry, as well as food and beverages. Demand for sensor-supported solutions for South America’s logistics and infrastructural development is also rising. “We look forward to continuing the success story of the last 30 years with a highly experienced management team in Chile, and offering SICK’s customers in South America added value with regional market competence and a high service orientation,” Vatter adds.
SICK is one of the world’s leading producers of sensors and sensor solutions for industrial applications. The company, founded in 1946 by Dr. Erwin Sick and based in Waldkirch-im-Breisgau near Freiburg, is a technology and market leader with a global presence – with more than 50 subsidiaries and associated companies, as well as numerous sales offices. SICK achieved Group sales of about EUR 1.5 bn. in the 2017 fiscal year with almost 9,000 employees worldwide.
Further information on SICK is available at http://www.sick.com or by phone at +49 (0)7681 202-5747.