The divestment of Stahl’s wet-end leather chemicals business to Syntagma Capital will see it shed 428 employees and its full wet-end portfolio and manufacturing sites across Italy and India.

The move announced on 18 November, represents Stahl’s final move away from the treatment of hides, 94 years after it was founded as a leather finishing company.

Subject to normal closing conditions, the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

“In recent years, Stahl has made a deliberate strategic shift towards premium coatings, establishing ourselves as the market leader in coatings for flexible materials,” said Maarten Heijbroek, CEO of the Waalwijk, Netherlands-headquartered group.

“The divestment of our wet-end leather chemicals business completes this transformation. Stahl is now a pure-play coatings formulator, which will allow us to accelerate innovation and sustainability to enhance consumer experiences and to live our purpose: ‘Touching lives, for a better world’.

“At the same time, we are accelerating investments in growth, with a new manufacturing plant in Singapore, doubling our capacity in China and investments in new Centers of Excellence in Asia, the US and Europe. I’d like to thank all Stahl wet-end employees for their considerable contribution to Stahl over the years and wish them every success under their new ownership.”

In September 2024, Stahl acquired the EUR 70-million (GBP 59-million) turnover German food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical packaging coatings company Weilburger Graphics, strengthening its move into specialist print coatings.

Stahl employs around 2,000 staff worldwide.

This story was published by Dominic Bernard at Printweek.