A full range of high-performance specialties

The sixties saw some major technological breakthroughs, starting in 1961 when Cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin of the Soviet Union became the first human to orbit the Earth. Just a year later in 1962, Evonik also made an important breakthrough for the chemical industry: In search for ways to better utilize acetone, our researchers in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany made the discovery that they could use acetone to manufacture the solvent isophorone. As the world watched the space race developing, none of the team working on the project in our Herne plant could imagine their groundbreaking work would be the start of a totally new chemistry that would drive the next megatrend of resource efficiency. Since the isophorone production began, Evonik has continued to develop a variety of isophorone-based products, covering all stages in the production chain: isophorone (IP), isophorone diamine (IPD), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and their derivatives. Due to their mechanical strength, durability, chemical resistance and excellent adhesion, they are important components in the production of paints, lacquers and binders for modern coating systems, to name just a few. Today, they are also used in the area of high-performance composite materials and in chemical synthesis.

Whether as coatings for industrial flooring in factory buildings, hospitals or parking garages, or for building facades that have to withstand tough climate conditions, or for ships and bridges that are constantly exposed to salt water – Evonik’s isophorone-based products are well-known. Under our established brand names such as VESTASOL^®, VESTAMIN^®, VESTANAT^®, and VESTAGON^® our products help to increase the service life of heavy-duty surfaces. High-performance products of the VESTA brand family by Evonik's Crosslinkers business line are also used for composites in rotor blades for wind turbines or in automotive interiors to produce higher quality instrument panels and trims.

Moreover, Evonik's Crosslinkers team are constantly developing new applications for high-performance integrated technologies based on isophorone derivatives. For example, our isophorone-based solutions are now playing an important role in the food and beverage industries for metal can coating and safe for direct food contact.

The production of isophorone takes place at Evonik's world-scale production facilities in Herne and Marl (Germany), Antwerp (Belgium), Mobile (AL, USA), and Shanghai (China). We cover the entire value-added chain for isophorone and its derivatives with our broad product range, and now have production facilities in the world's three main economic areas, Europe, NAFTA and Asia.

Crosslinkers - Creating Marketable and Intelligent Solutions

Since 1962, Evonik is a pioneer and reliable partner for its customers and their needs all over the word in the field of isophorone chemistry. Today, 60 years later, Evonik is represented worldwide by its innovative isophorone-based VESTA brand family. Applications range from coatings and adhesives to civil engineering, high-performance elastomers and composites. Evonik is now going even further by being the first company in the world to create a sustainable isophorone string in order to take a pole position in climate protection and to help customers to improve their carbon footprint.

Evonik and our VESTA brand family continues to play as vital a role in isophorone chemistry today as we did back in 1962 when it all began.