German acrylics specialist Röhm (Darmstadt; www.roehm.com) said it has opened a new technology centre for methacrylates in Shanghai / China and announced plans to build a US technical centre in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Röhm said its Asia Technology Center in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park has technical application and development labs staffed with polymer experts to support the development of designs and applications with OEMs in fields such as automotive full-width rear lamps, ambient lighting, and appliances.

The US centre is said to represent Röhm’s largest non-production investment for its moulding compounds unit that serves the Americas. It is to have a global reach for all medical research development, providing increased capability for its “Cyrolite” material solutions for the medical device industry, Röhm said. The centre is also to include application development, design and processing support for the region’s automotive applications made with its “Acrylite” materials.

Plans foresee nearly 1,393 m² of floor space for the site, which is to include a visitors’ center, an internal/external training facility, workshops, offices, laboratories and a warehouse.