PLEXIGLAS®—commonplace and yet extraordinary
From invention to the PLEXIGLAS® brand name
The plastics research team of Dr. Otto Röhm of Röhm & Haas, now Röhm GmbH, derived the name PLEXIGLAS® from PLEXIGUM, the existing name of the company’s plastic resins and solutions. Fascinated by having invented an “organic glass” with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) , they called it PLEXIGLAS®.
The Acrylic Products business line of Röhm GmbH is a global producer of PMMA products marketed under the PLEXIGLAS® registered trademark in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia and under the ACRYLITE® brand name in the Americas
PLEXIGLAS® applications are everywhere around us. Ever since the material was developed more than 85 years ago by Dr. Otto Röhm and his research team, it has been used in a wide range of projects. Applications designed with PLEXIGLAS® are often so striking that they immediately catch the eye: examples are illuminated stadium facades and gigantic aquariums. But PLEXIGLAS® can equally be found in high-quality furniture and wall coverings, durable facades and window frames, the light guide film in a smart phone display, or car tail light covers. Taking these elements for granted mostly, we hardly ever stop to think about the material from which they are produced.
A versatile branded product
Today “Plexiglas” is erroneously used as a generic term for acrylic products of all types by various producers as well as for other transparent plastics. But there’s a difference between PLEXIGLAS® and acrylic: PLEXIGLAS® is a branded product.
The PLEXIGLAS® brand stands for quality in products on which particularly high requirements are placed. The branded acrylic is among the highest-quality and most versatile acrylics available anywhere. And it offers the customized and durably brilliant solutions for every branch of industry that only a high-grade branded acrylic can. The product portfolio has been continuously expanded over the years. Today, cast and extruded solid, multi-skin, and corrugated sheets as well as tubes, rods, and films in a wide range of colors and surfaces and with special properties are offered under the PLEXIGLAS® brand name.