Stahl on the evolution towards fresh/clean air quality in car interiors

Following the first interview with Stefan Buri, Global Marketing Director Automotive from Stahl, Automotive IQ had a follow-up conversation with Mr. Buri on the updates for Stahl regarding the evolution towards fresh and clean air quality in car interiors.

Last time we spoke you talked about the latest innovative solutions for car interior, what are the recent updates from Stahl?

The requirements for car interior are quickly evolving, and the same applies for deliveries from Stahl. As the leading expert in car interior services, we have 10 different surface-technologies that serve different supply chains and all end up in the car interior.  Probably the most important milestone we have achieved over the last couple of months was the acquisition of BASF Leather Chemicals division. We have further broadened our product portfolio and sharpened our market leadership profile. This will allow us to further enhance our offerings to the marketplace. 

A transparent and sustainable supply chain is high on the agenda at Stahl. Also within the automotive industry/car interior. Can you tell me more about his? 

That is absolutely correct. We believe that transparency and sustainability goes hand in hand. In order to keep pace with the rapid changing landscape of our industry, we are investing in partnerships across the entire value chain, because we believe innovation happens foremost through partnerships. It is important for us to understand from first hand the voice of the customers, but also we want to inspire the entire value chain, on what is feasible today with modern technologies.

Stahl has different VOC-low and VOC-free solutions, free of odor and emissions. Can you give some examples of these products, and explain how these products work? 

That is a very important topic for us and the whole industry. Over the past years, the subject of interior vehicle quality, related to emissions and the smell of interior materials, has gained dramatically in importance. Just recently, market research J.D. Power IQS study on China 2017 unveiled that the dissatisfaction of the Chinese car buyer related to bad odor inside new cars continues peaking (16,4 PP100) and is actually one of the upmost and important subjects. It has a direct influence on the purchasing decisions in the biggest car market, that is China. Within our STAHL EVO portfolio we have good examples of high performance products that reduces the odor in cars. 

Besides the significant changes in technology the interior materials supply chains have implemented in the pursuit to reduce emissions and smell from interior materials, there will be more change ahead. We in Stahl think we are well positioned to continue to be the front-runner and innovator in low-emissions surface technology in the race towards green& clean interior trim materials. 

What will the future bring in the light of low-emission materials for car interior?

What we can generally see, is that the world is ready to adopt sustainable mobility. We believe at the same time that this will also influence the way interior materials are being looked at, as sustainable green interior materials will further be on the rise. We believe with green technology at Stahl, we can make a genuine difference in offering differentiated products and experiences in sync with the expectations of a ever growing population of sustainability-conscious car buyers.

For any business enquiries, who should be contacted in your company?

Stahl, Stefan Buri, Global Marketing Director Automotive. Email: stefan.buri@stahl.com

For more information about Stahl's solutions for Automotive, please visit www.stahl.com