DEGAROUTE®

The history of DEGAROUTE ® begins in the 1960s, when two predecessor companies of Evonik Industries AG, Deutsche Gold- und Silber-Scheideanstalt vorm. Roessler (Degussa) and Röhm & Haas GmbH, began research work in the field of coating resins.

Both Röhm & Haas and Degussa used methyl methacrylate (MMA) as a raw material. With the addition of fillers, pigments and glass beads, they developed a mass that achieved a durability of many years in its use as a road surface. The marking experts called this mass based on 2-component reaction resins "cold plastic", in contrast to the "hot plastic" developed shortly before. The pigmented systems proved to be particularly suitable for road markings. In 1963 and 1964, the first test coatings were carried out at Degussa on the factory premises and at Frankfurt Airport, while at the same time Röhm & Haas had their product tested by the Federal Highway Research Institute. In the mid-1970s, both companies received the first approvals for road markings.

In order to adapt the service life of the cold plastic to the renewal cycle of road surfaces and to increase cost-effectiveness, Degussa pushed ahead with the development of cold spray plastic with a layer thickness of 0.3 to 0.8 millimeters as an alternative to the original layer thickness of 3 millimeters. Depending on the intended use, different variations have emerged over the years: In 1988, for example, a new, profiled cold plastic marking was introduced – now under the brand name DEGAROUTE.®

Röhm & Haas (from 1971 Röhm GmbH) also continuously expanded its range of road markings. This application soon became a focus in the construction chemicals sector and was marketed there together with the other products under the brand name PLEXILITH. After the successful trials with red cycle path coatings started in 1982, the coating resins gained more and more importance.

In 1989, Röhm GmbH became part of Hüls AG, while Degussa AG bundled its methacrylate activities in its subsidiary Agomer GmbH in 1996. When Degussa and Hüls merged in 1999, the two methacrylate subsidiaries also came together. In the process, the know-how of the previously competing product areas was brought together. Following further mergers, the methacrylates business, which now belonged to Evonik Industries AG, and its products – including DEGAROUTE® – were spun off in 2019. Since then, it has operated as an independent company, for which the traditional name Röhm GmbH was chosen.