PLEXIGLAS® - The Original Acrylic

Did you know,

…that acrylic glass as we know it under the PLEXIGLAS® brand was invented by coincidence in the 1930s? In fact, Röhm GmbH’s eponymous founder, chemist Dr. Otto Röhm, was looking to create synthetic rubber along with his team. But one day, a bottle of experimental compound was left on the window sill, and the sunlight caused a reaction to produce a glass-like substance – but which weighed much less.

…that Otto Röhm, completed an apprenticeship as a pharmacy assistant and, after studying Pharmacy and Chemistry, went on to invent over 70 patents? His inventive talent meant he could hold his own even alongside industry giants such as IG Farben.

…that you cannot tell the age of PLEXIGLAS® acrylic just by looking at it because it is extremely durable and weather-resistant? This is why we guarantee that colorless original PLEXIGLAS® sheets and tubes will maintain their high transparency for 30 years. Even at 90, PLEXIGLAS® by Röhm can look fantastic! Countless known use cases in architecture and design remain timelessly beautiful, even many decades later.

…that PLEXIGLAS® acrylic is extremely easy to process and can formed into virtually any shape? Or that it weighs only half as much as glass and is exceptionally break-proof? This is why it has been the perfect material for professionals, do-it-yourself enthusiasts and artists alike for 90 years now.

…that PLEXIGLAS® is made of UV-stable molecules? This allows transparent sheets to remain crystal clear even in extreme conditions. The sign of yellowing is not perceptible for the human eye.

…that PLEXIGLAS® is fully recyclable? The potential for use in a circular economy is enshrined in the DNA of the material invented by Dr. Otto Röhm: Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) – its chemical name – can be broken down into its original components, from which new high-quality PLEXIGLAS® products can be formed. This type of circular economy, which is possible only for a very limited number of plastics, conserves resources and reduces waste.

…that PLEXIGLAS® acrylic offers design freedom that knows virtually no bounds and can be combined with light to create the most magical effects? For example, you can use different variants of the material to draw with light, light up the entire surface or only the edges.

90 years old, but still fit for the future

For a greener future: PLEXIGLAS® acrylic helps to conserve resources because it is durable, fully recyclable, can be fully reused within a circular economy and is also available as a climate-neutral variant.

Sustainability

From experiment to brand

90 years of PLEXIGLAS®: A LOGO IN CHANGING TIMES

Noble brand ambassador

Back to the roots

A Brand for the future

On August 9, 1933, Dr. Otto Röhm – a pioneer in the chemistry of acrylics – registered polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as PLEXIGLAS® at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.

Six years after the brand was registered, PLEXIGLAS® received its registered trademark: From 1939 onward, multiple versions of the logo were created, some of which were award-winning. Since 2020, the brand name has been the sole focus, along with a reference to its inventor: PLEXIGLAS® The Original by Röhm.

In 1963, „King Acrylius” was ruler of the PLEXIGLAS® advertisements. He played the starring role in the advertising film „253,000 hours”, with the film winning the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

In August 2019, the companies Röhm GmbH and Evonik Industries went their separate ways. The PLEXIGLAS® brand is now back home under the name of its inventor Otto Röhm.

PLEXIGLAS® the original by Röhm is now one of the world’s best-known plastics brands. With a pioneering spirit and passion for innovation, more than 90 years of experience have turned the original material polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) into a large product family with a variety of properties, colors and shapes. PLEXIGLAS® semifinished acrylic products and molding compounds offer contemporary solutions for every industry – innovative, durable and sustainable.

PLEXIGLAS® DOES IT ALL

It protects plants, sets new records, dives to unknown depths, stages classical plays, embellishes buildings, saves lives - and can be adapted to any area of application. In all colours and shapes.

If Wagner had known...

No bad blood!

The worst sex in the world at 800 m below the surface

The church that moves

LED counter with 16 million colour shades

Crystal clear and great sound

88,000 square metres of pure lightness

„Parsifal” with a sci-fi stage set? Scandalous! Yet that is what the organisers of the 2013 Salzburg Easter Festival dared to create: Enormous PLEXIGLAS® tubes were used to recreate Parsifal's „tube forest”, which was made to come alive with ghostly effects using smoke and light.

For at-risk patients, units of stored blood have to be subjected to radioactive beams in order to eliminate any harmful substances. To ensure that the units of blood cannot get mixed up, they are given indicator labels which are protected by a 75-micrometre thin foil made of PLEXIGLAS®.

If it hadn't been for PLEXIGLAS®, the mating behaviour of the Caulophryne jordani would never have been discovered: In 2018, spectacular film footage was captured through the transparent viewing dome of the LULA1000 submersible. Along the way the researchers even managed to discover a German submarine from the Second World War ...

Who says that a church has to be drab and just made out of stone? The LichtKirche is a bright and inviting church which is made out of wood and PLEXIGLAS® and likes to turn up at public festivals, horticultural shows or trade fairs.

Two PLEXIGLAS® light counters are the stars of the Lufthansa Business Lounge Skybar at Munich airport: An enormous RGB colour scale, sleek, rounded shapes and up to 90 percent less electricity consumption compared to conventional lighting elements.

Röhm's inventive spirit knows no bounds. In 1935 he commissioned an employee to build him a violin from PLEXIGLAS®. The result was fascinating optics, modest acoustics. It was only when a professional instrument maker took on the job that musicians were also won over.

In 1972, Munich hosted the Olympic Games. The seemingly weightless PLEXIGLAS® roof of the Olympic Stadium becomes a worldwide architectural sensation and harmoniously fits into the landscape of the Olympic Park.

Discover the diversity of PLEXIGLAS® acrylic

Let us present PLEXIGLAS® – The Original by Röhm – in its full array of colors, forms and surface finishes. We showcase spectacular applications and show you how you can easily process the material.

Go to zu plexiglas.DE/EN

PLEXIGLAS® CUSTOMER CENTER

A place for professionals

Whether technical information, permissions and certificates, practical calculators and tools or information about our product range: Here you will find everything you need as a professional.