Expansion of global presence

SKW Trostberg AG had a 51 percent stake in the establishment of Hopfen-Extraktion GmbH in Münchsmünster. With the commissioning of a hops extraction plant in 1982, SKW Trostberg became involved in the area of supercritical fluid extraction of natural substances. In addition to hops extracts, other functional ingredients from aroma- and phytoextraction are produced.

Degussa built up its international position in the advanced fillers sector and together with the PQ Corporation in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, founded the North America Silica Company in Valley Forge for the production and marketing of precipitated silicic acids.

Hoechst AG sold its 50 percent stake in SKW Trostberg AG to VIAG AG, which thus became the sole owner of SKW Trostberg.

Following the completion of a number of construction phases, a new Degussa administrative building was erected at Frankfurt am Main on the site of the former separating works.

Following acquisition of the remaining bonus shares by VEBA AG, which had been the majority shareholder of Chemische Werke Hüls AG since 1979, the Marl Company changed its name to Hüls AG, its headquarters still based in Marl.

Degussa further developed its position in the area of carbon blacks by acquiring the European carbon black works belonging to the Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma (USA). This gave Degussa full ownership of the carbon black works in Ambès, France and in Botlek, Netherlands and also a 50 percent stake in carbon black factories in Malmö, Sweden and in Ravenna, Italy.

In the same year Degussa sponsored a visiting professorship in Chemistry and Medicine at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. This professorship was endowed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Degussa research center in Hanau-Wolfgang.

Hüls AG acquired the chemicals and polymers division of Dynamit Nobel AG, Troisdorf. This brought a number of plants into the ownership of the Marl Group. These were the Witten factory, founded in 1905 as Märkische Seifenindustrie GmbH, a manufacturer of fat-chemical products, polyester resins and bonding agents for the varnish industry, and the Steyerberg works, established in 1977, with its DMT production plant. DMT (Dimethyl phtalate) is also produced in a plant at the likewise recently acquired Lülsdorf factory, which was founded in 1912. The new acquisitions also included the Rheinfelden works, established in 1898 as Elektrochemische Werke GmbH (now the southern part of the works), which was immediately adjacent to the Rheinfelden works of the former Degussa AG (now the northern part of the works) and which was combined with it in 1999 as part of the merger.

Through the purchase of stock, Röhm GmbH in Darmstadt became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hüls AG. After Degussa AG and Hüls AG merged to become Degussa-Hüls AG in 1999, Degussa subsidiary Agomer GmbH was amalgamated with Röhm GmbH. Today Evonik Röhm GmbH is an essential component of the Chemicals Business Area of Evonik.