Change and growth

Degussa consolidated its chemical research at the Hanau-Wolfgang location. Later the Chemical Applications Technology and Metallurgical Research departments also set up shop at what is now the Wolfgang Industrial Park, which became the Group's most important research center. Today Evonik’s Chemicals Business Area has more than 40 research facilities worldwide.

Under the brand name Tegostab^®, Th. Goldschmidt AG began production in Essen of stabilizers for polyurethane foams (PU foams), which as an additive considerably improved the quality of conventional PU foams. PU foams are used for example in furniture upholstery and in automobile seats and as insulation in refrigerators and windows. Today, production and sales are part of the Chemicals Business Area of Evonik.

By founding new marketing companies in Italy, France and the USA, Degussa further developed its international market position.

At the Rheinfelden works, Degussa started commercial production of hydrogen peroxide using its own method. The uses for hydrogen peroxide include bleaching processes for paper and textiles and also decontamination of exhaust gases and wastewater.

Degussa opened a plant for manufacturing methyl methacrylate at the Wesseling works. Today this is further processed into Polymethylmethacrylate and marketed in the form of acrylic glass panels and as molding material for extrusion and injection molding. In 1997, following the hiving off of the methacrylate operations of the former Degussa, the Wesseling plant became one of the four production locations of the new subsidiary Agomer GmbH, which merged with Röhm GmbH in 2000 to become Röhm GmbH & Co. KG, today’s Evonik Röhm GmbH.

By setting up a plant to manufacture organomodified siloxanes (OS plant) on the newly acquired eastern site of the Essen works, Th. Goldschmidt AG finally made a move towards becoming a supplier of silicon-based, organic specialty products. The OS plant was extended and modernized many times in the coming decades. Today it is part of the Chemicals Business Area of Evonik.

In a joint operation with the Mitsubishi Metal Corporation, Degussa founded the Nippon Aerosil Co. Ltd., in Tokyo, Japan, to produce and market AEROSIL^®. Two years later the AEROSIL^® burner was started at the Yokkaichi site. After a record time of only eight months, an additional plant for manufacturing AEROSIL^® R 972 was added.

In Weiterstadt near Darmstadt, Röhm & Haas GmbH started construction of a new plant to manufacture PLEXIGLAS^® in the form of flat panels.

Degussa laid the foundations of a large new production site for the company when it established Degussa Antwerpen N.V. in Belgium. The Antwerp works have been continuously expanded and today it is one of the Group's most important production facilities.

In Latin America Degussa strengthened its market position by setting up new sales organizations in Mexico and Argentina.

Süddeutsche Kalkstickstoff-Werke AG started production of the concrete plasticizer MELMENT^® at Trostberg. The product, a water soluble, modified melamine resin is an extremely good liquefier for cement mortar, and thus paved the way for SKW's worldwide construction chemicals operations. Due to internal growth and several acquisitions, namely the construction chemicals subsidiary of Suisse Sandoz (the MBT group) in 1996 SKW became world market leader in this segment. In 2006 the constructions chemicals activities were sold out to BASF.

At the new Weiterstadt works of Röhm & Haas GmbH, the production shop was commissioned with 18 extrusion machines for manufacturing PLEXIGLAS^® panels. Today’s Evonik Röhm GmbH still produces extruded and cast panels there. There are also plants at Weiterstadt that manufacture specialized pharmaceutical products such as EUDRAGIT^®.