Subject to approval from the cartel authority, HT Troplast AG (HT, PO Box 1165, D-53839 Troisdorf) – an affiliated company of Rütgers AG, Essen – and Sika AG (Tüffenwies 16-22, CH-8048 Zürich) intend to join forces in producing plastic sealing sheets for flat roofs and general building insulation. As of 1 January 1997, both companies will merge their seals and flexible waterproofing segments to form the new Sika-Trocal AG, Zürich.

The 50:50 joint venture with an annual turnover of about CHF 200m is to take over the development, production and worldwide distribution of the "Trocal" and "Sikaplan" sealing sheets. The expected advantages of the joint venture for the customers are a "complete range of tried and tested system solutions with an attractive price-performance ratio" and an "efficient distribution network".

Martin Driever, who was previously head of the seals division at HT, has been appointed managing director of Sika-Trocal. Next to Switzerland, the joint venture will be present in Germany through Sika-Trocal GmbH, Troisdorf, and in France through Sika-Trocal SA, Paris.