Festive inauguration of Dr. Otto Röhm into the Plastics Hall of Fame

Spotlight and festive atmosphere in Düsseldorf, Germany: as part of a festive ceremony, a truly special moment was honored the day before yesterday when Dr. Otto Röhm, a company founder and namesake of today’s Röhm GmbH, has been posthumously inducted into the prestigious Plastics Hall of Fame. In front of an international audience, the ceremonial induction into the “Class of 2025” took place on October 7, 2025, on the eve of K 2025 trade fair.

“Otto Röhm’s genius lay not only in the chemistry itself, but in recognizing how science could be transformed into real, practical innovation – and how to get people on board for his ideas and his company,” said Segment Head Thomas Brettnich of Röhm, who accepted the award on behalf of the company.

The Plastics Hall of Fame honors individuals who have shaped the international plastics industry through outstanding achievements and whose innovations continue to have a lasting impact even today. The members of the Plastics Hall of Fame decide on the admission through a voting process. At the festive award ceremony, 250 guests celebrated the induction of 18 pioneers from the chemical industry.

Otto Röhm and his team of researchers achieved their big break in the 1930s with the development of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), an innovative material that Röhm later trademarked under the ACRYLITE® brand. PMMA, a crystal-clear plastic, was a major milestone in the history of chemistry: it combines a wealth of properties, offering a unique variety of solutions for highly specialized applications – today it is used in architecture, the automotive industry, industrial design, medical technology and many more industries.