May 31 2007
Degussa is planning to build a production plant for the rigid polymethacrylimide foam ROHACELL® at its largest US site in Mobile, Alabama. The new plant by the world's leading specialty chemicals company comprises an investment volume of about US$10 million and is scheduled to commence operation in mid-2008.
Dr. Joachim Leluschko, president of the High Performance Polymers Business Unit: “Composites are an attractive global growth market. By expanding our production to North America, we're meeting the growing demand worldwide for ROHACELL® core materials for technical sandwich construction.”
Inspec Foams, Inc., of Allen, Texas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Degussa, will manufacture ROHACELL® in Mobile to the same high standard of quality as in Degussa's first and, until now, only plant in Darmstadt. The construction of local ROHACELL® production facilities will considerably reduce lead times on the North American continent, and further enhance technical customer service.
ROHACELL® is a product of Degussa's High Performance Polymers Business Unit. With 1040 employees the business unit generated sales of €422 million in 2006.
Outstanding mechanical and thermal properties
The polymethacrylimide rigid foam ROHACELL® is used as a core material in “sandwich constructions” - a technique that bonds the foam between two cover skins made of high-tenacity plastics, which are reinforced by carbon or glass fibers. The result: extremely rigid and lightweight molded articles capable of withstanding extreme stresses. Of all foams on the market, ROHACELL® has the best ratio of weight to mechanical properties and the highest thermostability.
This makes ROHACELL® an ideal light-weight material for the aerospace industry. It is used, for example, in the new Airbus A 380, or in helicopter rotor blades. In addition, in this year's biathlon championships in Antholz, Italy, many top athletes such as world champions Björndalen and Greis relied on skis that incorporated high-end sandwich cores made from ROHACELL®.