PLEXIGLAS® - The Original Acrylic

Did you know...

that the acrylic glass we know today as PLEXIGLAS® was invented by chance? Otto Röhm actually wanted to create synthetic rubber. Until one day he left the experimental compound out overnight. The next morning he found that it had turned into a glass-like substance - but much lighter than glass.

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 PLEXIGLAS® is extremely durable and weather-resistant? This makes it an ideal material for sustainable construction. And explains why we offer a 30 year guarantee on our products.

that PLEXIGLAS® only weighs half as much as glass and is extremely resistant to breaking? Unlike glass, the material reacts elastically to point loads and can be creatively transformed, drilled and reshaped.

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®, unlike plastic, can be completely broken down into its chemical components and is 100% recyclable?

that the PLEXIGLAS® material polymethyl methacrylate has a sweet scent when burned and does not generate any toxic emissions or air pollutants as it is broken down into water and carbon dioxide?

that PLEXIGLAS® can be mistaken optically, but not acoustically, for polycarbonate? If you knock on PLEXIGLAS®, it will not sound “tinny” as it is much harder and denser than polycarbonate.

IN THE KNOW: EVERYTHING ABOUT PLEXIGLAS®

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From experiment to brand

87 years of PLEXIGLAS®: The logo over the years

Who's got the Sellotape®?

Noble brand ambassador

Back to the roots

In 1901, Otto Röhm completed his studies with a dissertation on „Polymerisation products of the acrylic acid”. On 9 August 1933, he registered the material polymethyl methacrylate as PLEXIGLAS® at the patent and trade mark office.

Six years after formation, PLEXIGLAS® received its trademark. Ten logos followed from 1939 on, some of which were awarded prizes. Since the turn of the millennium, the focus has been on the name alone, together with the add-on „Original by Röhm”.

In the same way that Hoover® became a synonym for vacuum cleaners and Sellotape® for adhesive tape, PLEXIGLAS® is used as the collective term for acrylic glass. But the original stands out significantly from the products of other manufacturers.

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.

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.

AT A GLANCE: INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT PLEXIGLAS®

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