Optimizing Rubber Processing: Schill+Seilacher Shifts Leadership Strategy

Amid supply chain pressures and energy costs, Schill+Seilacher’s new chief executive targets direct operational gains for tire and molder plants.

The Schill+Seilacher Group has appointed Stephan Sielaff as Chief Executive Officer. Best known in the automotive and rubber manufacturing sectors for its STRUKTOL product line, the specialty chemicals group aims to leverage its international operations across Europe, the Americas, and Asia to tighten technical collaboration with industrial clients.

For tire makers, automotive rubber molders, and component suppliers, specialty additives—including dispersing agents, homogenizers, lubricants, and processing aids—directly impact manufacturing margins. These chemical solutions improve filler dispersion, enhance batch consistency, accelerate mixing cycles, and minimize scrap rates during compounding and extrusion processes.

Bringing three decades of leadership experience from companies including Unilever, Symrise, Archroma, and Lenzing AG, Sielaff intends to align product development directly with factory-floor process requirements. For North American automotive parts suppliers and raw material buyers, the company’s focus on regional technical support seeks to improve supply chain reliability and accelerate plant-level productivity gains.