As the coronavirus pandemic continues, demand for Plexiglas acrylic sheets has risen sharply in the past few weeks. The sheets are one of the first lines of defence against the spread of the virus anywhere where personal contact is unavoidable.
Plexiglas divider sheets being used as ‘sneeze guards’ - transparent separator walls at points of sale and store or customer counters, in taxis and in some countries, in schools to minimize the risk of droplet infection and to break infection chains.
Röhm GmbH has responded by significantly scaling up production at its side Weiterstadt. At the same time, further measures have been taken to protect production staff from potential infection.
The company says it has secure and reliable access to raw materials and primary products for manufacturing Plexiglas sheet products, all of which are produced in Germany, allowing it to react respond quickly and flexibly to the increased demand on the market.
True Plexiglas sheets, Röhm emphasised, i.e. those carrying the registered PLEXIGLAS® trademark, are impact-resistant, easy to produce, and resistant to yellowing even after many years of use. Sheets used for transparent partitions are also available in a special version that is scratch-resistant on one side and that offers increased chemical resistance.
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), also known as acrylic or acrylic glass is a transparent thermoplastic often used in sheet form as a lightweight or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. Prior to the current pandemic, the worldwide market for acrylic sheet was predicted to grow at a CAGR of roughly 5.2% over the next five years, reaching $7120 million in 2024, from $5270 million in 2019, according to the Acrylic Sheets Industry 2019 Global Market research report published last year.