Atohaas Europe (4 cours Michelet, Cedex 42, F-92091 Paris La Défense), the European end of the worldwide PMMA merger between Elf Atochem and Rohm and Haas USA, has chosen its site at Rho/Italy for a new 35,000 t PMMA granule plant. Involving an investment of some FF 300m and planned for start-up in 1996, the plant will use the continuous mass polymerisation process, as opposed to the batch-type suspension process, which will allow production of higher purity resins, aimed at the automotive, laser video disk and optical/electronics lens markets.

The site at Rho is particularly attractive because of the accessability there since 1993 of Enichem's cyanhydrine acetone, a raw material for the monomer, while the Atohaas main PMMA R and D centre for Europe is also located there. An important outcome of the new plant will be replacement of imports of Oroglas PMMA granule from the US-based partner Rohm and Haas.

Atohaas Europe (51% Elf Atochem and 49% Rohm and Haas) currently has 87,000 tpa PMMA capacity, at five sites: Bernouville and Carling/St Avold in France, Stockstadt in Germany and Leeuwarden in Holland. The North American company (51% Rohm and Haas and 49% Elf Atochem) has 135,000 tpa, from three plants in the USA plus one in Canada and one in Mexico. The Asia/Pacific region is covered by a 50/50 joint venture company, Atohaas Pacific, which does not have a plant in the region yet – but the Group is not excluding the possibility for the near future.