Guaranteeing polyester's success

DMT

In 1953, at what is now the Degussa factory in Witten, Prof. Ewald Katzschmann developed a new process technique for commercial DMT production, an important initial component of polyester. DMT stands for the chemical name Di-methyl-terephtalate. The new technique, known as the Witten-Katzschmann process, paved the way for polyester's success worldwide.

The process guarantees the special purity of DMT, enabling it to be re-processed easily and in large quantities. The Katzschmann process is still in use today and has been patented many times over. High-grade synthetic fibers are produced using the intermediate product DMT. DMT is a vital component of many everyday products as well as in trade and industry. It enables the production of high-quality textiles, sheeting and packaging, e.g. PET bottles. It is used in safety belts and also in tennis racket stringing. DMT is also required to manufacture technical synthetics, for example in high-pressure hoses.

Today, DMT is produced by Degussa's Marl-based subsidiary Oxxynova GmbH & Co. KG at the Lülsdorf und Steyerberg facilities. The first DMT plant was built in 1968 in Lülsdorf. With a production output of around 480,000 tons per year, equivalent to a daily output of over 1,300 tons, Degussa is Europe's leading manufacturer of DMT.