May 23, 2025 – During Shanghai’s recent “Face-to-Face with Headquarters” initiative, journalists accompanied officials on an exclusive tour of Röhm Chemical’s integrated production base and Asian Technology Center in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park. As a global leader in methacrylate chemicals, Röhm has, over the past 15 years since establishing its first Shanghai facility in 2009, built a comprehensive value chain spanning raw material production to cutting-edge research. The visit spotlighted Röhm’s strategic footprint and market maneuvers in Shanghai, exemplifying how multinational enterprises leverage innovation and supply chain optimization to fuel China’s chemical industry evolution.
While Röhm Chemical might not ring immediate bells for many, the ubiquitous material “acrylic” surely does—and it was none other than Röhm’s founder, the renowned German chemist Dr. Otto Röhm, who invented it. This century-old German chemical giant, after launching its methacrylate integrated production facility in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in 2009, now boasts an annual capacity of 100,000 tons. Today, on Shanghai’s streets, one in every four cars features Röhm-made materials in its headlights.
The burgeoning Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) market has spurred soaring demand for high-performance materials. Li Dejun, Head of Röhm’s Methacrylate Resins in Asia, revealed that the segment catering to NEV taillights—especially with the rising popularity of through-type designs—has sustained double-digit growth, significantly bolstering the company’s regional and global revenues. Responding to this trend, Röhm expanded its polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) molding compound plant in Shanghai, which commenced operations in October 2023. Li noted that Asia now accounts for 30% of the group’s total sales, underscoring China and Asia’s growing strategic importance. Röhm is actively exploring further capacity expansions in China, with other business units planning additional investments.
Röhm’s technological endeavors in Shanghai are equally impressive. According to the Color Masterbatch Industry Network, Röhm’s Asian Technology Center—phases one and two—opened in the INNOGREEN Park of the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park between 2021 and 2022. Spanning 1,000 square meters, this state-of-the-art R&D hub houses advanced laboratories for analysis, polymerization, formulation, and PLEXIGLAS® research, driving end-to-end innovation from raw materials to application technologies. Tailored to China’s demand for high-transparency, weather-resistant PMMA, the center slashes product development cycles by 40%, acting as Röhm’s innovation powerhouse for local clients. To date, it has spearheaded over 30 domestic R&D projects, fueling breakthroughs in sectors like NEV lighting and smart home displays.
Despite China’s methacrylate industry grappling with overcapacity, Röhm remains committed to innovation as its growth engine. Over the next three years, the company aims to allocate 6% of its revenue to R&D, focusing on frontier areas such as optical-grade PMMA and bio-based methacrylates. Röhm’s Shanghai leadership emphasized leveraging the city’s industrial clustering advantages, strengthening collaborations with local universities and research institutions to create an “R&D-pilot-industrialization” innovation loop. The goal? Maintaining a market share exceeding 30% in high-end segments.