- It was during the mid 1920 that the German firm, Rohm & Haas, first uncovered a means to polymerize the water-like methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer to solid PMMA sheet in laboratory.
- In 1931, an ICI chemist called John Crawford, who discovered an economic process route to MMA based on acetone, hydrogen cyanide, sulfuric acid and methanol with some modifications, ICI scaled up process in 1937 and it remains to this day one of the main routes to the large scale manufacture of MMA (ACH route).
- In 1936, ICI in Darwen, UK started to make cell cast acrylic sheet and the sheet was used for canopy of fighter plane.
- Taiwan's Chi Mei Corporation began a trial production of cast sheets via Japanese technology in 1957 and carried them forward, driving Taiwan's acrylic industry ever since. Its PMMA pellet production with a capacity of 60 ktpa was on line in 1989.
- In 1976, KMC (Kaohsiung Monomer Company), a Taiwan joint venture by ICI and CPDC (China Petroleum Development Company), was established for manufacturing and supplying MMA in Asia pacific region.