ROHM Group: Expanding PMMA Production Capacity at Shanghai Plant

Recently, methacrylate producer Rohm Chemical Group held a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of its PLEXIGLAS® (polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA) molding compound plant in Shanghai. The expanded Shanghai plant is expected to be completed and put into operation in the second quarter of 2023.


ROHM continues to expand global PMMA production capacity

At the end of 2021, ROHM Group officially announced that it will invest tens of millions of euros to expand its Shanghai factory to expand the production capacity of its PMMA molding compound products under the trademark PLEXIGLAS® (the product is trademarked as ACRYLITE® in the Americas).

It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time that ROHM PLEXIGLAS® has announced an expansion of production capacity in 2021. Just in November 2021, ROHM also announced the expansion of its PMMA molding compound plant in Worms, Germany, where PLEXIGLAS® products are produced.

ROHM is the only methyl methacrylate (MMA) and PMMA supplier in the world with downstream blending and modification production facilities in Asia, North America and Europe. ROHM PMMA molding compound products are in strong global demand. ROHM PLEXIGLAS® has high durability, weather resistance and UV resistance, high color fastness, high brightness and high transparency, as well as excellent hardness and scratch resistance, etc. It can be widely used in automobiles, construction, Lighting and household appliances industries.


Significance of expanding the Shanghai factory

According to the environmental impact assessment information previously released by the Shanghai Ecological Environment Bureau, Roma Chemicals plans to carry out technical transformation or expansion of multiple sets of devices in the whole plant through this production expansion project. Among them, the technical transformation of the MMA plant is proposed. After the technical transformation, the total production capacity of MMA can reach up to 127,000 tons/year, and a PMMA production line will be added at the same time, with a production capacity of 20,000 tons/year. The total investment of the entire reconstruction and expansion project is 240 million yuan.

Han Peide, COO of ROHM, said: "Expanding production capacity in China is an important step in ROHM's global growth strategy for PMMA molding compounds. By expanding the production capacity of the Shanghai plant and expanding the compounding system, we have consolidated ROHM's strong market in China. status.

On August 6, 2021, ROHM held the opening ceremony of the Asian Technology Center at the Shanghai International Innovation Center for Chemical New Materials (INNOGREEN). The new ROHM Asia Technology Center is located in the INNOGREEN campus of the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone, covering an area of 1,000 square meters. The part put into use at the opening is the first phase, which is mainly based on the application technology and R&D laboratory of the molding compound business. The second phase includes laboratories for ROHM's general-purpose monomers and methacrylic resin businesses, and will be completed in mid-2022.