WAALWIJK, the Netherlands – Stahl has opened its new Center of Excellence for Automotive in Waalwijk, the Netherlands. The center focuses on developing high-performing and sustainable solutions for car interiors, varying from smart surfaces that change with temperature to special haptics for a warm and pleasant touch.

“At the Center of Excellence, we aim to inspire customers by showing our latest innovations,” said Stefan Buri, Global Marketing Director, Automotive. “At the center, we will conduct key customer trials that will serve as a base for application development of new solutions.”

Stahl will demonstrate how the automotive industry can benefit from the unique combination of different interior materials and surface capabilities, for example, colors and appearances of leather steering wheels or car seats to perfectly match the seat and trim materials of the dashboards and gearshifts.

The Center of Excellence is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery to cater to the needs of the automotive industry. There is a unique coating, lacquering and printing line including a full-scale vacuum-forming machine to produce full door-panel skins. In addition, it has two unique squeak-and-rattle testing machines for seating and trim materials and weatherstrips.