Delpet is being discontinued. Now what?
Asahi Kasei is leaving the PMMA business. Production of Delpet was scheduled to end in September 2026, and sales end in September 2027.
The short answer
Asahi Kasei is leaving the PMMA business. On May 27, 2025 its board decided to stop making Delpet and Delpowder acrylic resin. Production was scheduled to end in September 2026 and sales in September 2027. The notice covers the whole business at its Kawasaki Works, so it applies to every Delpet grade. Asahi Kasei has not named a successor product.
What to do now
- Ask about remaining stock. Ask your seller how much of your grade is left and for a last-time-buy date before sales end in September 2027.
- Write down what has to match. Clarity and haze, color, heat resistance, melt flow, any UV or impact modification, and the approvals on your part (FDA, UL, customer).
- Pick candidates and run a trial. Compare data sheets, then mold a trial lot and check appearance, dimensions and any approvals before you switch.
- Plan the paperwork. Update drawings and purchase specs, and get new regulatory letters from the new producer.
PMMA brands buyers often consider
These are widely sold PMMA molding resin brands. None is a drop-in equivalent of a specific Delpet grade. Match on the data sheet and confirm with a trial.
- Plexiglas: Trinseo in the Americas (sold as Altuglas in Europe and Asia). Trinseo filed a prearranged Chapter 11 in May 2026 and says customer operations continue.
- Acrylite: Röhm in the Americas (sold as PLEXIGLAS outside the Americas, a different Plexiglas from Trinseo’s).
- Acryrex: Chi Mei Corporation.
- Acrypet: Mitsubishi Chemical.
Sources
- Asahi Kasei, notice of withdrawal from PMMA resin and other businesses, May 27, 2025
- Asahi Kasei, Delpet site notice
Questions
Is Delpet discontinued?
Yes. Asahi Kasei decided on May 27, 2025 to leave the PMMA resin business. Production was scheduled to end in September 2026 and sales in September 2027.
Is there a direct replacement for Delpet?
Asahi Kasei has not named one. Other PMMA brands such as Plexiglas, Acrylite, Acryrex and Acrypet can often be qualified, but match on the data sheet and run a trial first.
Does this affect Delpowder too?
Yes. The notice covers Delpet and Delpowder acrylic resin.
Replacing a Delpet grade?
Send the Delpet grade you run. A polymer chemist suggests PMMA grades to qualify, with what differs, and quotes them.