German PMMA specialist Röhm (Darmstadt; www.roehm.com) said it has officially commissioned the recently expanded polymerisation plant in Shanghai, China.

A company spokesperson told Plasteurope.com that additional capacity at the PMMA plant in Worms, Germany, is to come onstream in the winter. The representative declined to name the size of the expansions at the sites or even discuss the original available output. PIE’s Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net) shows PMMA capacity of 40,000 t/y in Shanghai, another 40,000 t/y expected from the expansion, and the Worms site anticipated to increase by that same amount to 240,000 t/y.

Related: Röhm announces price hikes for PMMA film 

The plant in Shanghai is to cater to China, the world’s largest market for MMA and PMMA, according to the company, which said it began supplying the region with the materials in the 90s. 

Röhm has been operating the Shanghai site since 2008. The resin maker said the basis for its success in the Asian market is not only the high quality of its material, but also customised innovations developed specifically for the market. Examples include grades for automotive pillar trim and electronic displays, it said.