PMMA Supplier Röhm Expands US Production Capacity

Materials supplier Röhm announced today that it has expanded production capacity at its Wallingford, CT, plant. The company, headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, modified and redeployed an existing production line at the Wallingford site to accelerate delivery times and satisfy increasing global demand for its polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) products.

Röhm’s PMMA products are sold in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Australia under the Plexiglas name and in the Americas under the Acrylite registered trademark. Company co-founder Otto Röhm was instrumental in the development of PMMA in 1933, and the company remains the only global manufacturer of MMA and PMMA, complete with downstream compounding, in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Key production site for medical-grade material.

The Wallingford facility has more than 50 workers and operates several production lines that manufacture specialty PMMA molding compounds. It is a key production site for Cyrolite, a high-quality, transparent, acrylic-based plastic suited for medical applications. 

“This investment is also part of the growth strategy we have been putting in place and demonstrates our commitment to continuously invest to support our customers, in particular with higher quality and regulation standards,” said Thom Hemler, global segment director, medical, at Röhm America.

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Demand from automotive sector prompts expansion in Germany.

Earlier this year in February, Röhm also expanded production capacity for Plexiglas molding compounds at its facility in Worms, Germany, the company’s largest plant. Growing demand, particularly from the automotive sector, necessitated the expansion, according to the company.

Röhm is also building an MMA production plant in Bay City, TX, which is scheduled to be completed this year.

PMMA from Röhm has been established on the market for 90 years and is well-suited for applications where durability, weather and UV resistance, color fastness, luminosity, and transparency as well as hardness and scratch-resistance are key requirements.