To further strengthen the market position of its specialty molding compounds globally, Röhm GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany) has significantly expanded its production capacity at the Wallingford plant in Connecticut. The innovative improvement was possible by modifying and redeploying an existing production line at the Wallingford site, providing customers with faster delivery and meeting increasing demand globally.
“Röhm is committed to supplying the automotive, medical and other specialty markets with the highest quality products and service offerings, not only in America but also globally“ says Thomas Spagnuolo, Vice President in the Molding Compounds business unit at Röhm America. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) products from Röhm are sold on the European, Asian, African and Australian continent under the registered trademark PLEXIGLAS and in the Americas under the registered trademark ACRYLITE. The Wallingford facility has more than 50 workers and operates several production lines that manufacture specialty PMMA molding compounds.
“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” adds Thom Hemler Global Segment Director, Medical at Röhm America. The Wallingford site is also a key production site for CYROLITEa high-quality, transparent, acrylic-based plastic especially for medical applications.
“Röhm is a reliable partner worldwide and is driving forward the expansion of capacities, both in production and in technical service, in all relevant regions.” says Siamak Djafarian, Senior Vice President and Head of Röhm’s Molding Compounds business unit. “We are the only global manufacturer of MMA and PMMA, complete with downstream compounding, in all three important regions of Asia, Europe and North America. This makes Röhm a strategic and reliable partner for customers around the world.” Röhm is the European market leader in PMMA molding compounds and ranks second on a global scale.
PMMA from Röhm has been established on the market for 90 years and is well-suited for applications where durability, resistance to weather and UV, color fastness, high luminosity and transparency as well as hardness and scratch-resistance are key. Started as an independent company almost five years ago with the goal of creating the leading Methacrylate Verbund, Röhm is well on its way to achieving this target. The central component of the strategy and the flagship project is the construction of a production plant for methyl methacrylate (MMA) in Bay City, Texas (USA) where the innovative LiMA technology developed by Röhm is used.