History

1963: At the K´63 plastics trade show, Chemische Werke Hüls AG unveils the polyamide 12 VESTAMID®, produced on the pilot-plant scale by a process developed in-house.
The steps involved in the process are:

• trimerization of butadiene
• hydrogenation of cyclodecatriene to cyclododecane
• oxidation of cyclododecane to cyclododecanone
• reaction of cyclododecanone with hydroxylamine, to yield cyclododecanone oxime
• production of laurolactam by Beckmann rearrangement, using Ziegler catalysts

1966: The first reactor, with an output of 1,200 metric tons of polyamide 12 per year, goes into operation. Under the brand name VESTAMID®, the product is processed into compounds, coating powders, and copolyamide hot-melt adhesives. The names VESTOSINT® for the polyamide 12 powder and VESTAMELT® for the copolyamide hot-melt adhesive are used for the first time at the K´86 plastics trade show. The development of polyamide 612 also starts in the mid-1960s.

1970: Chemische Werke Hüls AG and Daicel Ltd., Tokyo, establish a 50:50 joint venture, Daicel-Hüls Ltd., in Osaka, Japan, for the manufacture of polyamide 12 and its sale under the name DAIAMID in East Asia..

1975: Production of VESTODUR® begins. The polybutylene terephthalate is formed in a polycondensation reaction from the monomers dimethyl terephthalate and 1,4-butanediol.

1977:Start of plant-scale trials for production of polyamide 12 elastomers. These will be marketed in the following years under the name VESTAMID® E.

1978: Hüls starts the market launch of copolyester hot-melt adhesives under the brand name VESTAMELT® In 1986 copolyamide hot-melt adhesives will also be included under this brand name.

1980: Hüls introduces, under the trade name VESTENAMER®  8012, the first polyoctenamer obtainable on the market. Research activity on this product had started as early as 1971. Butadiene is catalytically dimerized to cyclooctadiene; this is partially hydrogenated to give cyclooctene, the monomer of polyoctenamer.

1985: The company's name is changed from Chemische Werke Hüls AG to Hüls Aktiengesellschaft, corresponding to the Hüls logotype that had been introduced in 1964..

1985/86: The first sample of the polyphenylene ether VESTORAN® is delivered and paves the way for the market launch of plastic-rubber composites (K&K composites) patently produced without the aid of an adhesion promoter. At the K´86 plastics trade fair, this cost-effective and environmentally friendly process is brought to the attention of a large number of visitors for the first time.

1988: After Dynamit Nobel AG's chemicals division is taken over, TROGAMID® T, a transparent, amorphous polyamide, becomes part of the Hüls product range. Dynamit Nobel had launched this polymer, the first to be made from dimethyl terephthalate and trimethyl hexamethylene diamine, on the market as early as 1968. Likewise, DYFLOR® (polyvinylidene fluoride) joins Hüls' range of plastics.

1991: Substitution of the aromatic constituents in transparent amorphous polyamides of the TROGAMID T grade by aliphatic monomers produces transparent polyamides with inherently improved UV resistance. By systematic selection of the monomers of the cycloaliphatic diamine and 1,12-dodecanedioic acid, it is possible to produce a crystallizable, permanently transparent polyamide. This polyamide is named TROGAMID® CX (for crystalline) in 1995.

1998 sees the conversion of Hüls into a strategic chemicals holding company. In addition to the existing subsidiaries, new ones are established; these include Creanova Spezialchemie GmbH, which, in addition to manufacturing products for the coatings industry, includes what is today’s High Performance Polymers Business Line.

1999: By incorporation of the merger of Degussa AG with Hüls AG, Degussa-Hüls AG comes into existence with retroactive effect, from October 1, 1998, and absorbs Creanova Spezialchemie GmbH.

2000: Following construction of a pilot plant, a commercial plant is commissioned for continuous production of polyamide 12. The process was developed by Hüls in 1993.

2001: At the beginning of the year the merger of Degussa-Hüls AG and SKW Trostberg AG to form the new Degussa AG created the third largest chemicals group in Germany and one of the leading suppliers of specialty chemicals worldwide. The company's headquarters are in Dusseldorf.

2005: JIDA Degussa High Performance Polymers Changchun Co. Ltd. (JIDA Degussa), a joint venture founded in June, comes on stream in December after permits for polyetheretherketone production have been obtained from the regulatory authorities. Degussa holds an 80 percent stake (through its Chinese holding company) in the joint venture, and Jilin University in northern China 20 percent. The product is marketed by High Performance Polymers under the VESTAKEEP® brand name.

2006: High Performance Polymers takes over into its product portfolio some of the semi-finished products of Röhm GmbH. These include ROHACELL® polymethacrylimide rigid foam, SOLIMIDE® polyimide soft foam, and PLEXIGLAS® polymethylmethacrylate films, as well as sheets and films of various polymers of the EUROPLEX® brand name and P84® polyimide fibers.

2007: On September 12, 2007, High Performance Polymers becomes part of Evonik Industries AG, headquartered in Essen. Degussa GmbH now operates as Evonik Degussa GmbH.