Meet Emmanuel Marchat

How Stahl’s new lab is driving growth in performance coatings

What makes our colleagues tick, and how do they bring our purpose - Touching lives, for a better world – to life? Here, Emmanuel Marchat tells us about his journey with Stahl and the opening of our new Application Lab in Japan.

How long have you been with Stahl? What first attracted you to the company?

I’m originally from France and I’ve lived in Japan for 30 years. My background is in automotive and industrial products, and over the last 25 years, I’ve been leading business development in Japan. I worked for both European groups and the large Japanese group, Sumitomo. 

I joined Stahl in 2020 when everything was done online due to Covid-19. Stahl has been in Japan since the 1980s, but it is a different company today. Since I joined, we’ve transformed from a leather-focused business towards performance coatings. We’re a small unit, with only 10 people, but we’re growing in size and diversity.

What is your role? Can you share an interesting fact about the work you do?

I’m the Managing Director of Stahl Japan, responsible for overseeing our business here. On the one hand, it’s a commercial role, focused on business development, recruitment, finances and negotiating with suppliers. I played a big role in the design and execution of our new application lab, overseeing the execution of the project.

On the other hand, my position is very entrepreneurial, as I’m responsible for building the business in Japan. In the last four years, I’ve been very focused on reducing costs in our operations and logistics, and there is still more to do to maintain our profitability and results.

What is your favourite thing about working at Stahl, and what are the biggest challenges?

I enjoy feeling like an entrepreneur, which is very hands-on and brings a sense of achievement. It’s easy to sit in an office and come up with theories, but it’s only half of the job. I’m interested in both the concept and the execution.

Something I think is really special about Stahl is the family spirit and relationship between the people. I’ve never experienced that in the other companies I’ve worked for, even the smaller ones.

When it comes to the challenges, our location is a great distance and time difference from our European colleagues. We are also still relatively small, so one of my dreams is to double the size of the business!

Stahl recently opened a new Application Lab in Japan. Can you tell us about it and what will be the main activities of the lab?

There is an office side and a lab side, where we expect to welcome more technicians and office staff to grow our performance coatings unit. We are located in Kawasaki, just across the river from Tokyo. Our leather business is based in Himeji, in the south of Japan, but we decided to open the lab in Kawasaki because it’s in the centre of a large pool of talent. Here's a video of the lab opening to get an impression of our brand new application lab.

How does your work support Stahl’s purpose: Touching lives, for a better world?

Many of the things we develop in Japan will touch lives around the world. One of the characteristics of the Japanese market is that our local customers are generally producing things outside of Japan. So, we want to be the first step for Japanese customers to access the technical expertise and know-how of Stahl around the world. 

The first market we touch is in automotive seats and trims, but we are also growing our presence in performance coatings. We are one of the major local producers of coated fabrics in Japan, which can be found in sportswear, sports equipment and technical textiles.

Furthermore, solvent-based products are still allowed in Japan, representing around 80% of some market segments. We are, therefore, spearheading the transition to more sustainable water-based solutions. 

Finally, how do you spend your free time outside of work? 

My hobbies mostly include hiking in the mountains, skiing and paragliding. I also like to ride my bike and go sailing with my friends. 

Time with my family is also important to me. I have been married to my wife, who is Japanese, for 30 years, and we have three grown-up children. My daughter is an opera singer, my youngest son is a professional musician, and my eldest son is a student. I’m proud of the happy life we have built here.

Thanks for sharing your story, Emmanuel! We are proud of our people who make a difference every day and strive for excellence together.