By Dr. Julien Renvoise, Engineered Surfaces Sales Director for EMEA and Asia
In my new role as Engineered Surfaces Sales Director for EMEA and Asia, I am excited to shift my focus from polystyrene and furthering its circularity to our polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) sheet offerings. Thanks to our St. Avold, France, plant celebrating an incredible fifty years of operation, our recent acquisitions of Aristech Surfaces LLC and Heathland B.V., and the Trinseo team’s continued commitment to our engineered surfaces strategy, I am confident in the future of our PMMA production and excited for our 2024 plans.
Investing in Sustainability
As with our other material solutions, Trinseo’s PMMA is manufactured with our 2030 sustainability goals in mind. Developing sustainably advantaged products and minimizing the carbon footprint of operations and assets is both a challenge and an opportunity for the PMMA industry. Trinseo is rising to that challenge by expanding our recycling capabilities in three key areas.
In Q1 2024, our forthcoming PMMA depolymerization demonstration facility in Europe will convert PMMA waste streams into recycled methyl methacrylate monomer (rMMA), allowing us to repurpose cast sheets that cannot be mechanically recycled due to their chemical structure. Heathland, our recycling arm located in the Netherlands, will collect end-of-life acrylic materials as well as pre-consumer waste for this process. We will also continue investing in our St. Avold, France, site to broaden our ALTUGLAS™ R-Life range of recyclate-containing products, which help our customers manage their own carbon footprint.
Displaying Excellence and Leadership in Cast Sheets
After 50 years of production in St. Avold, France, we’re proud to be #1 in cast sheets capacity in Europe. We have developed fruitful, long-term relationships both with customers and stakeholders further down the value chain, including trade associations, designers, architects, and major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Our history of local expertise combined with our global presence allows us to support customers across a wide range of industries, including sanitary applications, construction, signage, and lighting. In the future, we look forward to enhancing our mobility offerings and expanding into spa and hot tub applications.
Offering Differentiated Surfaces Solutions
Our 2021 acquisition of Aristech Surfaces strengthened our acrylic sheets portfolio, with offerings manufactured in North America and Europe. We are now one of the only companies in the world that provides large format continuous cast sheet, giving us a distinct advantage in the PMMA industry. Together, our offerings of ALTUGLAS™ and PLEXIGLAS® acrylic sheet, Aristech™ acrylics, AVONITE™ FLEX, AVONITE™ acrylic solid surfaces, and InDURO™ acrylic capped sheet empower us to fulfill a wider range of customer applications. Our facilities can also accommodate niche specifications, including custom color matching, small batch capabilities, and LED system technology.
With decades of expertise behind us and big ideas ahead, the future of PMMA at Trinseo looks brighter than ever. Fifty years of continuous operation is no small feat, and I look forward to serving our customers in EMEA – and around the world – for years to come.