Award for the original from Röhm: PLEXIGLAS® is a “Brand of the Century”

• Product honored in the encyclopedia of pioneering German brands
• PLEXIGLAS® has been a versatile, inspirational and innovative product for almost 90 years
• Long-lasting, recyclable material for sustainable product design

PLEXIGLAS®, the Original from Röhm, is a stalwart of the “Deutsche Standards. Marken des Jahrhunderts” [Brand of the Century] encyclopedia, and has been included once again in 2022. “This award honors brands that have made it to the Champions League,” explains Dr. Florian Langenscheidt, editor of the encyclopedia, which is published by the ZEIT Verlagsgruppe. This illustrated book is regularly updated and presents pioneering brands from Germany, as well as telling the story of their development. PLEXIGLAS® has been one of its “brands of the century” since 2007, and has also been included in the latest edition for 2022 to 2024.

A panel of judges awards the title to brands that are exemplary in their field and have set new standards of quality. Like PLEXIGLAS®. The brand PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) from Röhm is one of the world’s best-known plastics.

A brand that is constantly reinventing itself

“We are delighted with this recognition for our strong brand plastic, which can be traced back directly to the pioneering achievements of our company’s eponymous founder, Dr. Otto Röhm. He laid the foundation for our development, which has made us the world’s leading Methacrylate Verbund today,” says Michael Pack, CEO of Röhm GmbH. “PLEXIGLAS® is synonymous with both tradition and change, as the innovation potential of our branded products is all but inexhaustible.”

Back in the 1930s, a little bit of luck was also involved, when chemist Dr. Otto Röhm and his team invented a new type of plastic: polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The extraordinarily transparent and robust material was named PLEXIGLAS® and registered as a trademark in 1933. Since then, this first acrylic glass has developed into a huge, colorful and constantly growing product family with a diverse range of shapes and properties. PLEXIGLAS® has accompanied technical progress in numerous branches for almost 90 years now.

Versatile, inspiring and innovative

As a semi-finished product and molding compound, the branded plastic impresses and inspires customers in sectors such as industrial and automotive design and architecture. One of the most famous, most spectacular and largest examples is one of Munich’s best-known landmarks: The huge canopy roof of the Olympic stadium is made from PLEXIGLAS® panels attached to a movable cable construction.

And the material also plays a role in countless everyday products and highly specialized applications, both large and small. The spectrum of semi-finished products ranges from cover films just a few micrometers thick for diagnostic chips in medical technology, to meter-thick PMMA blocks used to make extravagant swimming pools, pressure-resistant panes for large aquariums, or viewing domes for submarines. PLEXIGLAS® panels are popular in private construction projects as premium roofs for patios and car ports. Professional designers use the flexible material, which can be colored at will, for furniture, trade fair construction, shopfitting and impressive illuminated advertising, as the light-scattering variants of the brand acrylic have a particularly magical appearance when combined with light.

PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds can be turned into almost any shape using thermoplastic processing, as well as adding gloss and shine to components and transform from glossy black surfaces to smart displays with black panel effect. Thanks to its unique optical properties, the automotive industry also values Röhm’s branded PMMA as a material for distinctive rear lights and the light bars that are becoming increasingly popular in modern vehicle design. Lighting manufacturers use PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds to produce both ultra-precise high-performance lenses and beautifully shaped luminaires. This wide range of applications proves that the potential of this versatile material is far from exhausted.

Durable and sustainable

PLEXIGLAS® is a traditional brand with a bright future. As a premium quality, durable plastic that can also be completely recycled, the Original from Röhm contributes to contemporary and sustainable product design,” emphasizes CEO Pack. One of the newest members of the product family is the panel product PLEXIGLAS® proTerra, which is made up to 90% from recycled acrylic glass and carries the new brand symbol that verifies the sustainability of Röhm’s products and services.