— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

German chemical company Röhm (Darmstadt; www.roehm.com) said it is close to completing its new US plant for methyl methacrylate (MMA) in Bay City, Texas. The company estimates the production capacity at 250,000 t/y.

Following commissioning at Bay City, Röhm said it plans to close its 150,000 t/y MMA plant in Westwego, in neighbouring US state Louisiana, next year. The company noted that this decision was based on the line’s lower efficiency and higher costs. While 70 jobs will be lost at the former site, the same number will be created at the new plant.

Related: Röhm plans substantial price hike for PMMA moulding compounds             

Röhm only recently in summer completed the expansion of its PMMA plant in Wallingford, Connecticut, USA. At the beginning of the year, the chemical company was able to open the new expansion stage of PMMA production at Worms, Germany, with a slight delay. It did not provide exact figures on the expansion. The German firm had already expanded its PMMA and MMA capacities in China in 2023.

Röhm employs around 2,850 people at nine production sites and reported sales of EUR 1.6 bn in 2023.