2026 Global Top 10: Honorable Mention, Stahl
Stahl is a global supplier of specialty coatings for flexible materials. Its portfolio includes leather finishing coatings, performance coatings and paper packaging and graphics coatings used in automotive, fashion and lifestyle, luxury goods, footwear, packaging and home furnishings.
For 2025, Wendel reported €718.4 million in net sales from Stahl. PCI uses that figure for this listing because it reflects the company following the separation of Muno, Stahl’s former wet-end leather chemicals business. The carveout, completed in December 2025, positioned Stahl as a pure-play specialty coatings company.
Honorable Mention:
Stahl
2025 Coatings Sales: Approx. $812 million (€718.4 million)
Headquarters: Waalwijk, Netherlands
CEO: Maarten Heijbroek
Majority Owner: Wendel SE
Stahl operates globally from its Waalwijk headquarters and employs approximately 1,700 people. The company maintains a network of manufacturing sites and application laboratories supporting customers across its Leather Solutions, Performance Coatings and Packaging Coatings businesses.
In 2025, Stahl continued to strengthen its packaging coatings strategy. In May 2026, the company launched Repura™, a barrier-coatings portfolio for paper-based packaging. In June, Stahl announced an agreement to acquire the graphics coatings business of Weilburger Coatings in Brazil, expanding its Packaging Coatings position in Latin America.
The company also reported progress toward its ESG Roadmap to 2030, including continued use of waterborne technologies and lower-impact product development across its specialty coatings portfolio.
In February 2026, Henkel agreed to acquire Stahl for an enterprise value of €2.1 billion. Wendel, which held a 68.5% stake, along with BASF, Clariant and other minority shareholders, agreed to sell their interests in the company. At press time, the transaction remained subject to mandatory consultation processes, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Henkel said the acquisition would expand its Adhesive Technologies business into adjacent specialty coatings categories. Stahl’s portfolio serves several markets already familiar to Henkel, including automotive, fashion and lifestyle, packaging and consumer goods, while adding specialized formulation, application and R&D capabilities.
Source: Wendel 2025 consolidated financial statements and full-year results, Henkel and Stahl company announcements, and Stahl company websiteLooking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
