Schill+Seilacher
Schill+Seilacher is a German specialty-chemicals group, also associated with the Struktol brand, serving leather, textiles, paper, rubber, tires, and other industrial applications.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Schill+Seilacher is a German specialty-chemicals company founded in Heilbronn in 1877 by the brothers-in-law Christoph Seilacher and Karl Schill. The business began by producing specialty materials for the leather industry, but its development followed the changing technical requirements of industrial manufacturing. Its early products included dégras tanning fats, which combined the properties of a fat and an emulsifier and became an important application in emulsion technology. When chrome tanning displaced dégras-based processes around the turn of the twentieth century, the company diversified rather than remaining dependent on its original product category. Christoph Seilacher responded to the changing leather market by developing photographic gelatine and the associated pouring, cooling, and application equipment. These products were supplied to photographic companies including Kodak, Lumière in Paris, and Agfa. The company subsequently broadened its portfolio of process additives and expanded into textile finishing. A Hamburg branch opened in 1925, giving the business access to international maritime trade routes and supporting its commercial development beyond southern Germany. In the late 1920s, Schill+Seilacher began making additives for rubber processing, establishing an industrial-chemicals direction that later became an important part of the group. The company’s facilities in Feuerbach and Hamburg were destroyed during bombing in the Second World War. After the war, production was relocated to Böblingen, southwest of Stuttgart, while the Hamburg site was rebuilt near its former location. The Böblingen plant was later enlarged and modernized. Its activities came to include specialty materials such as sophorolipids and amino-acid surfactants. Postwar leather-chemistry development included a process for tanning and fatliquoring animal hides with salts of sulfonated fatty-acid amides. During the 1960s, the Hamburg operation also produced leather softeners. International expansion continued in 1977 with the establishment of Struktol Company of America in Stow, Ohio. Struktol became a significant brand identity associated with the group and its industrial additives, including chemicals used in tire production and compatibilizers. In 1997, Schill+Seilacher opened a plant in Neundorf near Pirna, where it produced specialty chemicals including the flame-retardant intermediate 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene 10-oxide. A serious industrial accident occurred at the Neundorf plant on December 1, 2014, when five metric tons of trimethyl phosphite exploded during an Arbuzov reaction. One worker died and four were injured. The Saxon State Office for the Environment attributed the incident to the addition of too little toluene solvent, identifying human error as the cause reported in the reference material. Reconstruction was accompanied by controversy, after which the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology developed a revised safety concept. The plant reopened in August 2019. For most of its history, Schill+Seilacher was family-owned. Ingeborg Gross, a descendant of the founding family, managed the company until shortly before her death in 2019. Before her death, she transferred the group to the Ingeborg Gross Foundation in Hamburg and the Pro Humanitate Foundation in Liechtenstein, preserving the group’s foundation-based ownership structure. The company’s historical profile is therefore defined by long-term private ownership, gradual diversification, specialized process chemistry, and a portfolio spanning leather, textile, paper, rubber, tire, and other industrial applications.
History
Schill+Seilacher was established on November 1, 1877, in Heilbronn by Christoph Seilacher and Karl Schill as a chemical factory specializing in products for leather processing. The company moved to Feuerbach, now part of Stuttgart, four years later because of rapid growth. In 1886 it applied for a patent covering the manufacture of dégras tanning fat. The material was technologically important because it combined fatty and emulsifying properties, although its use remained concentrated in leather production. The rise of chrome tanning threatened the company’s original business around the turn of the twentieth century. Christoph Seilacher therefore diversified into photographic gelatine and the machinery required to pour, cool, and apply it. The company supplied photographic manufacturers including Kodak, Lumière in Paris, and Agfa. It later developed a broader range of process additives. A Hamburg branch opened in 1925, supporting international distribution through the port and accompanying the company’s expansion into textile-finishing chemistry. By the end of the 1920s, the company had also begun producing rubber-processing additives. The Feuerbach and Hamburg facilities were destroyed during wartime bombing. After the Second World War, manufacturing was moved to Böblingen, while the Hamburg site was reconstructed close to its original location. The Böblingen operation was subsequently expanded and modernized. Its product range developed to include specialty materials such as sophorolipids and amino-acid surfactants. In the early 1950s, the company introduced a process for tanning and fatliquoring hides using salts of sulfonated fatty-acid amides. During the 1960s, the Hamburg plant manufactured leather softeners. The group began its international expansion in 1977 by founding Struktol Company of America in Stow, Ohio. The Struktol name became associated with the group’s industrial additives, including compatibilizers and materials for tire production. In 1997, Schill+Seilacher established a new plant in Neundorf near Pirna. This site produced specialty chemicals including the flame-retardant compound 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene 10-oxide. On December 1, 2014, a major accident occurred at Neundorf when five metric tons of trimethyl phosphite exploded during an Arbuzov reaction. One employee was killed and four were injured. The Saxon State Office for the Environment reported that insufficient toluene solvent had been added and identified human error as the cause. Reconstruction of the facility generated controversy. Freiberg University of Mining and Technology subsequently developed a new safety concept, and the plant reopened in August 2019. The Schill+Seilacher group remained family-owned from its formation until 2019. Ingeborg Gross, a granddaughter of the founding family, managed the company until shortly before her death. She transferred ownership to the Ingeborg Gross Foundation in Hamburg and the Pro Humanitate Foundation in Liechtenstein, which she had created for this purpose. The group’s historical evolution reflects repeated movement into adjacent industrial applications rather than reliance on a single chemical product: leather chemistry was followed by photographic materials, textile finishing, rubber and tire additives, paper-related chemistry, surfactants, and flame-retardant materials.
- 2019
Neundorf plant reopened
[1]The Neundorf facility reopened in August after implementation of a new safety concept.
- 2019
Foundation-based ownership established
[1]Ingeborg Gross transferred the group to the Ingeborg Gross Foundation and the Pro Humanitate Foundation.
- 2014
Fatal explosion at Neundorf
[1]An explosion involving trimethyl phosphite killed one worker and injured four others during an Arbuzov reaction.
- 1997
Neundorf plant opened
[1]A new production facility opened in Neundorf near Pirna for specialty chemicals, including a flame-retardant compound.
- 1977
Struktol Company of America established
[1]The group expanded into the United States by founding Struktol Company of America in Stow, Ohio.
- 1960
Leather softener production in Hamburg
[1]The Hamburg plant began producing leather softeners during the 1960s.
- 1950
New hide-tanning and fatliquoring process
[1]Schill+Seilacher developed a process using salts of sulfonated fatty-acid amides for tanning and fatliquoring animal hides.
- 1928
Entry into rubber-processing additives
[1]The company began producing its first additives for rubber processing in the late 1920s.
- 1925
Hamburg branch opened
[1]A Hamburg branch was established to benefit from the port’s international trade connections and to support broader commercial activity.
- 1886
Patent application for dégras tanning fat
[1]The company applied for a patent covering a process for producing dégras tanning fat, an early product combining fatty and emulsifying properties.
Products and positioning
A privately owned German specialty-chemicals group positioned around application-specific process additives and formulation expertise for industrial customers. Its historic strengths include leather, textile, rubber, tire, paper, and flame-retardant chemistry, with the Struktol name associated particularly with rubber and tire additives.
Industrial chemical additives
Struktol industrial additives
Struktol is the principal brand name associated with Schill+Seilacher in the reference material. Its applications include industrial additives for rubber and tire manufacturing, as well as compatibilizers used to improve the performance or processing of formulated materials.
Leather chemicals · 1877
Leather tanning and fatliquoring chemicals
Leather chemistry is the company’s original field. Historical products included dégras tanning fats, sulfonated fatty-acid amide salts for tanning and fatliquoring, and later leather softeners. These materials were developed to modify hides and support processing, softness, and finish.
Textile chemicals
Textile-finishing chemicals
The company expanded into textile finishing during the early twentieth century. The reference material identifies textile chemicals as a continuing area of production, although it does not provide a complete current product catalogue.
Rubber and tire chemicals · 1928
Rubber and tire-processing additives
Schill+Seilacher entered rubber-processing chemistry in the late 1920s. Its later Struktol activities included additives for the tire industry and compatibilizers, serving formulation and processing needs in rubber-based manufacturing.
Surfactants
Sophorolipids and amino-acid surfactants
The expanded Böblingen plant produces specialty materials including sophorolipids and amino-acid surfactants. These products belong to the group’s broader process-chemical and formulation portfolio.
Flame retardants · 1997
Flame-retardant chemicals
The Neundorf plant has produced specialty flame-retardant chemistry, including 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene 10-oxide. The reference material does not specify the full range of associated commercial formulations.
Controversies
2014
Fatal Neundorf plant explosion
On December 1, 2014, five metric tons of trimethyl phosphite exploded during an Arbuzov reaction at the Neundorf plant. One worker was killed and four were injured. The Saxon State Office for the Environment reported that too little toluene solvent had been added and described human error as the cause. Reconstruction was controversial and led to development of a revised safety concept before the plant reopened in 2019.
Brand decisions
2019
Adoption of a revised safety concept at NeundorfStrategyBackground
The Neundorf facility required reconstruction after the 2014 explosion, and the reconstruction process generated controversy.
Action taken
Schill+Seilacher proceeded with a new safety concept developed by Freiberg University of Mining and Technology.
Aftermath
The plant reopened in August 2019.
2019
Transfer of the group to charitable foundationsM&ABackground
Schill+Seilacher had remained family-owned from its founding, with Ingeborg Gross as the last owner from the founding family.
Action taken
Before her death, Gross transferred the group to the Ingeborg Gross Foundation in Hamburg and the Pro Humanitate Foundation in Liechtenstein.
Aftermath
Ownership moved from the founding family to a foundation-based structure.
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