# Industry in Darmstadt: Merck, Evonik and a city of business and science

> Darmstadt’s industry ranges from Merck, with roots going back to 1668, via Röhm, Plexiglas and Evonik to Software AG, Döhler and ESA. A guide to the history, company sites and short journeys from the Orangerie.

As of: 2026-10-05 · https://darmstadt-ferienwohnung.de/en/blog/industry-darmstadt

Industry in Darmstadt is shaped above all by chemicals and pharmaceuticals: Merck has its group headquarters here, with roots going back to 1668, while Evonik and Röhm stand for specialty chemicals and Plexiglas. Add to that software, measurement and process technology, food ingredients and a space and research scene with ESA, EUMETSAT, GSI and Fraunhofer – a mix you’d hardly expect in a city of this size.

This guide tells how a pharmacy grew into a global corporation and why acrylic glass is a Darmstadt story. It also shows where the major employers are based today. If you’re coming for a project, an audit or a job interview, you can stay in the [BSG Living studios by the Orangerie](https://darmstadt-ferienwohnung.de/en/#studios) in quiet Bessungen: with a workspace, Wi-Fi and kitchenette, and the tram stop just a few steps from the door.

## Darmstadt industry at a glance: who shapes the city’s economy?
Darmstadt is no smokestack city. The big names work with molecules, code and satellites. Even so, if you drive through the north of the city, you’ll see how strongly industry has shaped the townscape: factory sites on Frankfurter Straße and Kirschenallee, office buildings in the TZ Rhein-Main technology park, laboratories around the TU campus.

- **Chemicals and pharma:** Merck, Evonik and Röhm

- **Software and engineering:** Software AG, Qlar (Schenck Process until 2024)

- **Food ingredients:** Döhler

- **Space and research:** ESA ESOC, EUMETSAT, GSI/FAIR, Fraunhofer institutes, TU Darmstadt

Together, these addresses explain why Darmstadt has held the title “Wissenschaftsstadt” (City of Science) since 1997 – and why so many wheeled suitcases travel between the main station and the factory gates on weekdays.

## Merck in Darmstadt: from the Engel-Apotheke to a global corporation
It all started with a pharmacy. In 1668, Friedrich Jacob Merck received permission to run the Engel-Apotheke (Angel Pharmacy) in Darmstadt. This marks the start of a company history that Darmstadt Tourismus counts among the oldest of its kind worldwide. The leap into industry came with Heinrich Emanuel Merck: from 1827 he produced and sold isolated active ingredients such as alkaloids himself. In 1850, together with his sons, he founded the company E. Merck Darmstadt.

Around 1903/1904 the company, by then employing more than 1,000 people, moved to new premises in the north of the city. The group headquarters is still there today, at Frankfurter Straße 250. According to Darmstadt Tourismus, around 11,000 people work there in Healthcare, Life Science and Electronics. The founding family still holds the majority of the listed company. On the site, the Pützerturm (Pützer Tower) and the Innovation Center stand side by side.

You’ll come across Merck in Darmstadt away from the plant, too: SV Darmstadt 98’s football stadium is called the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor. How best to reach the reception on Frankfurter Straße is explained in our guide to a [business trip to Merck](https://darmstadt-ferienwohnung.de/en/blog/business-trip-merck-darmstadt).

## Röhm, Plexiglas and Evonik: chemistry on Kirschenallee
The city’s second great chemistry story begins in Esslingen. There, chemist Otto Röhm and businessman Otto Haas founded the company Röhm & Haas on 6 September 1907. Because the premises in Esslingen became too small, Otto Röhm found a new company site in 1909 in the industrial area in north-west Darmstadt. Between 1916 and 1918 the factory’s administration building was built on Weiterstädter Straße, and in the plastics laboratory on Kirschenallee Otto Röhm and his team pushed ahead with research into acrylic compounds. In 1933 Röhm used this work to invent acrylic glass, better known by the brand name Plexiglas. By 1938, Plexiglas products for aviation were already on show at an air show in Chicago.

Via Hüls, Röhm later became part of Evonik and has been an independent company again since 2019. Today Röhm GmbH has its headquarters on Deutsche-Telekom-Allee in Darmstadt.

Evonik has stayed at Kirschenallee 45. According to Evonik, the site goes back to its founding by Otto Röhm in 1909. Today around 1,500 people work on its 16 hectares, including about 150 apprentices and students. Products made here include ROHACELL rigid foams and pharmaceutical polymers of the EUDRAGIT and RESOMER brands. Handy for project teams: tram 3 runs from the Orangerie stop to Kirschenallee without changing, in around 15 minutes according to the HEAG timetable.

## Software, scales, flavours: Software AG, Qlar and Döhler
Darmstadt’s economy is broader than the chemical industry might suggest. Three companies show the range:

### Software AG
Founded in 1969, Software AG is one of the best-known German software companies. Its headquarters is on Uhlandstraße in Eberstadt, in the south of the city – the same side as Bessungen. Since 2024 the company has no longer been listed on the stock exchange.

### Qlar, formerly Schenck Process
In 1881 Carl Schenck founded an iron foundry and scale factory in Darmstadt. It grew into Schenck Process, a specialist in weighing, feeding and conveying technology. Since May 2024 the company has operated as Qlar, based at Pallaswiesenstraße 100. If you work in chemicals, food or energy, you’ve probably come across Qlar technology without knowing it.

### Döhler
The Döhler Group started out in 1838 as a spice mill in Erfurt. In 1957 the company moved to Darmstadt, to Riedstraße in the west of the city. From here, Döhler develops flavours, colours and fruit ingredients for food and beverage manufacturers worldwide. An innovation and technology centre was added in Darmstadt in 2002, followed by a new flavour plant in 2011.

## Space and research: satellites, particles and Fraunhofer
Part of Darmstadt’s economy looks skywards. At **ESA ESOC** on Robert-Bosch-Straße, opened in 1967, teams control satellites of the European Space Agency. Right next door is **EUMETSAT**, the European organisation for weather satellites with 30 member states. In the north, in Wixhausen, the **GSI Helmholtzzentrum** is building the FAIR accelerator facility with a ring accelerator 1,100 metres in circumference. According to Darmstadt Tourismus, six new chemical elements were discovered at GSI, including element 110, darmstadtium.

Then there is TU Darmstadt – a Technische Hochschule since 1877 and a Technical University since 1997 – and several Fraunhofer institutes: IGD for visual computing, SIT as part of the ATHENE cybersecurity centre, and LBF in Kranichstein, which puts components and plastics through their paces. For many companies, these institutes are direct project partners. That’s why many business trips lead first to the plant and then to the lab. Find out more in our guides to [Darmstadt, City of Science](https://darmstadt-ferienwohnung.de/en/blog/darmstadt-city-of-science) and the [GSI particle accelerator](https://darmstadt-ferienwohnung.de/en/blog/gsi-particle-accelerator).

## Experiencing Darmstadt’s industrial history: what can visitors see?
The factory sites themselves are workplaces, not museums. Still, a few routes into industrial and technological history are open to visitors:

- **ESA and EUMETSAT:** Darmstadt Marketing arranges 90-minute tours in German. According to Darmstadt Tourismus, the ESA dates for 2026 are fully booked; at EUMETSAT there are tours on Fridays at 15:00 for ages 12 and up (as of October 2026). If you’re planning for 2027, enquire early.

- **GSI/FAIR:** groups of ten or more can book a free tour, children from age 12. The highlight is the view from the observation platform over the FAIR construction site (as of October 2026).

- **Haus für Industriekultur (House of Industrial Culture):** the printing museum of the Hessisches Landesmuseum at Kirschenallee 88 uses working machines to show how type founding, typesetting and printing worked from the early 19th century to the 1970s. According to Darmstadt Tourismus, it is currently temporarily closed – so check the latest situation before visiting.

- **Route der Industriekultur Rhein-Main (Industrial Heritage Trail):** around 1,000 sites in the region are part of it, from harbours to technology parks. During the annual “Tage der Industriekultur Rhein-Main” (Industrial Heritage Days), places open up that are otherwise inaccessible. The programme is published by KulturRegion FrankfurtRheinMain.

The rest is a city walk with your eyes open: the Pützerturm on Frankfurter Straße, the brick buildings on Kirschenallee, the space operations centre on Robert-Bosch-Straße.

## For business travellers: routes from the Orangerie and a studio instead of a hotel room
Your starting point is the Orangerie tram stop, about 100 metres from the studios. Lines 3 and 7 stop here. The map below shows how far away the individual sites are. For the main destinations:

- **Evonik:** tram 3 to Kirschenallee, no change needed.

- **ESOC, EUMETSAT and Röhm in the west of the city:** according to ESA, take tram 4 or 9 towards Griesheim from Luisenplatz. Tram 3 gets you from the Orangerie to Luisenplatz in around 10 minutes.

- **Merck, Qlar, Döhler and Software AG:** plan the fastest connection with the [RMV journey planner](https://www.rmv.de/). For Software AG in Eberstadt, Bessungen is conveniently located because you don’t have to cross the city centre.

And in the evening? Instead of a hotel corridor, your own little home awaits. Each of the seven studios has a workspace, Wi-Fi and a kitchenette with fridge and coffee pod machine. Check-in is by access code, even after a late train. Book direct online from two nights – booking direct, you won't find it cheaper anywhere. With their own desk, [Studio 3](https://darmstadt-ferienwohnung.de/en/studio/3) and [Studio 5](https://darmstadt-ferienwohnung.de/en/studio/5), for example, are well suited to a project week. Everything about company stays and invoices is on our [Business trip to Darmstadt](https://darmstadt-ferienwohnung.de/en/business-trip-darmstadt) page.

## Places
- **Merck KGaA – Konzernzentrale** – Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt – approx. 4.0 km from the studios – Group headquarters with roots going back to 1668, around 11,000 people on site according to Darmstadt Tourismus; its landmark is the Pützerturm.
- **Evonik – Standort Darmstadt** – Kirschenallee 45, 64293 Darmstadt – approx. 2.3 km from the studios – Site founded by Otto Röhm in 1909, today around 1,500 employees; products include ROHACELL and EUDRAGIT.
- **Röhm GmbH – Firmensitz** – Deutsche-Telekom-Allee 9, 64295 Darmstadt – approx. 2.0 km from the studios – The company behind Plexiglas, independent again since 2019, headquartered on Deutsche-Telekom-Allee.
- **Qlar (ehemals Schenck Process)** – Pallaswiesenstraße 100, 64293 Darmstadt – approx. 2.7 km from the studios – Founded in 1881 by Carl Schenck as an iron foundry and scale factory, today weighing, feeding and conveying technology.
- **Döhler** – Riedstraße 7-9, 64295 Darmstadt – approx. 1.5 km from the studios – Founded in Erfurt in 1838, in Darmstadt since 1957, ingredients for the food and beverage industry.
- **Software AG (Eberstadt)** – Uhlandstraße 12, 64297 Darmstadt – approx. 5.1 km from the studios – Software company founded in 1969 in the south of the city, on the same side as Bessungen.
- **ESA ESOC – Europäisches Raumflugkontrollzentrum** – Robert-Bosch-Str. 5, 64293 Darmstadt – approx. 2.5 km from the studios – Control centre for ESA satellites since 1967; tours via Darmstadt Marketing, fully booked for 2026 according to Darmstadt Tourismus.
- **EUMETSAT** – Eumetsat-Allee 1, 64295 Darmstadt – approx. 1.8 km from the studios – European organisation for weather satellites with 30 member states; tours on Fridays at 15:00 via Darmstadt Marketing (as of October 2026).
- **GSI Helmholtzzentrum / FAIR** – Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt – approx. 8.4 km from the studios – Where the element darmstadtium was discovered; group tours for ten or more people with a view of the FAIR construction site.
- **Haus für Industriekultur – Druckmuseum** – Kirschenallee 88, 64293 Darmstadt – approx. 2.7 km from the studios – Branch of the Landesmuseum with working printing machines – temporarily closed according to Darmstadt Tourismus (as of October 2026).
- **Fraunhofer LBF** – Bartningstraße 47, 64289 Darmstadt – approx. 5.4 km from the studios – Structural durability and system reliability in Kranichstein – testing partner for many industrial companies.

## Tips
- Allow some buffer for appointments in the north of the city (Merck, Qlar): the factory sites are large, and the right reception is usually stated in your invitation.
- Tours at ESA and EUMETSAT are booked through Darmstadt Marketing and fill up fast – enquire early for 2027.
- Until 18 October 2026, HEAG mobilo is carrying out works on many tram and bus lines. Check the latest service updates before your appointment.
- Job interview in the morning? Arrive the evening before. The studios by the Orangerie can be booked from two nights.

## FAQ
- **Which major companies are based in Darmstadt?** The best known include Merck with its group headquarters, Evonik and Röhm from specialty chemicals, Software AG, Qlar (formerly Schenck Process) and Döhler. In addition there are ESA ESOC, EUMETSAT, the GSI Helmholtzzentrum and several Fraunhofer institutes.
- **How long has Merck been in Darmstadt?** Since 1668, when Friedrich Jacob Merck received permission to run the Engel-Apotheke in Darmstadt. Heinrich Emanuel Merck started industrial production from 1827; today the group headquarters is at Frankfurter Straße 250.
- **Was Plexiglas invented in Darmstadt?** Yes: Otto Röhm invented Plexiglas in Darmstadt in 1933, having moved his company Röhm & Haas, founded in Esslingen in 1907, there in 1909. It is still sold under the Plexiglas brand name today by Röhm GmbH, headquartered in Darmstadt.
- **How do I get from Bessungen to Evonik?** Take tram 3 from the Orangerie stop to Kirschenallee without changing, around 15 minutes according to the HEAG timetable. The Evonik site is at Kirschenallee 45.
- **Where should I stay for a project lasting several days in Darmstadt?** For several nights, a studio with workspace, Wi-Fi and kitchenette is often more practical than a hotel room – for example at BSG Living by the Orangerie in Bessungen. Book direct online from two nights; check-in is by code.

## Sources
- [Darmstadt Tourismus: Merck (Gründung 1668, Konzernsitz, Beschäftigte)](https://www.darmstadt-tourismus.de/en/visit/detailsen/poidetail/merck.html)
- [Wikipedia: Merck KGaA (Engel-Apotheke, 1827, 1850, Umzug 1903/1904, Innovation Center)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merck_KGaA)
- [SV Darmstadt 98: Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor](https://www.sv98.de/stadion/merck-stadion-am-boellenfalltor/stadioninfos/)
- [Röhm GmbH: Unternehmensgeschichte (Gründung 6.9.1907, Verwaltungsgebäude Weiterstädter Straße 1916–1918, Kunststofflabor Kirschenallee, Chicago 1938)](https://www.roehm.com/de/geschichte)
- [Wikipedia: Röhm GmbH (Umzug 1909, Plexiglas 1933, Evonik, Verkauf 2019)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B6hm_GmbH)
- [PLEXIGLAS: Geschichte (Firmensitz Darmstadt 1909, Erfindung 1933)](https://www.plexiglas.de/de/ueber-uns/geschichte)
- [Röhm GmbH: Firmensitz Deutsche-Telekom-Allee 9](https://www.roehm.com/de/)
- [Evonik: Standort Darmstadt](https://www.evonik.com/en/company/worldwide-locations/europe/germany/darmstadt.html)
- [Darmstadt Tourismus: Software AG](https://www.darmstadt-tourismus.de/en/visit/detailsen/poidetail/software-ag.html)
- [Wikipedia: Software AG (Gründung 1969, Delisting 2024)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_AG)
- [Wikipedia: Qlar Group / Schenck Process (Gründung 1881, Umbenennung 2024)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_Process)
- [Qlar: Legal notice (Adresse Darmstadt)](https://www.qlar.com/legal-notice)
- [Döhler: Unsere Historie (1838 Erfurt, 1957 Darmstadt)](https://www.doehler.com/de/ueber-doehler/unsere-historie.html)
- [Döhler: Impressum (Adresse)](https://www.doehler.com/de/impressum.html)
- [ESA: 50 Jahre ESOC in Darmstadt](https://www.esa.int/Space_in_Member_States/Germany/50_Jahre_ESOC_in_Darmstadt)
- [ESA: ESOC – Getting here](https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESOC/Getting_here)
- [EUMETSAT: About EUMETSAT](https://www.eumetsat.int/about-eumetsat)
- [Darmstadt Tourismus: Führungen ESA und EUMETSAT](https://www.darmstadt-tourismus.de/en/visit/guided-tours/esa-and-eumetsat.html)
- [Darmstadt Tourismus: Darmstadt is science (Wissenschaftsstadt seit 1997, sechs Elemente bei GSI, TU-Geschichte)](https://www.darmstadt-tourismus.de/en/visit/darmstadt-is-science.html)
- [GSI: FAIR](https://www.gsi.de/en/researchaccelerators/fair)
- [GSI: Besichtigungen](https://www.gsi.de/presse/besichtigungen.htm)
- [TU Darmstadt: Die Universität (Gründung 1877)](https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/universitaet/index.de.jsp)
- [Stadt Darmstadt: Wissenschaftsstadt](https://www.darmstadt.de/standort/wissenschaft)
- [Fraunhofer: ATHENE](https://www.fraunhofer.de/en/institutes/cooperation/national-research-center-for-applied-cybersecurity-athene.html)
- [Darmstadt Tourismus: Fraunhofer IGD](https://www.darmstadt-tourismus.de/en/visit/detailsen/poidetail/fraunhofer-institut-fuer-graphische-datenverarbeitung-igd.html)
- [Fraunhofer LBF: Kontakt und Standorte](https://www.lbf.fraunhofer.de/en/contact.html)
- [Darmstadt Tourismus: Haus für Industriekultur](https://www.darmstadt-tourismus.de/besuch/details/poidetail/haus-fuer-industriekultur.html)
- [KulturRegion FrankfurtRheinMain: Route der Industriekultur](https://www.krfrm.de/project/route-der-industriekultur/)
- [HEAG mobilo: Fahrplan Linie 3 (gültig ab 14.12.2025)](https://www.heagmobilo.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Fahrplan_3_14.12.2025.pdf)
- [HEAG mobilo: Bauarbeiten in den Herbstferien 2026](https://www.heagmobilo.de/bauarbeiten-im-stadtgebiet-darmstadt-in-den-herbstferien-vom-5-18-oktober/)
- [RMV: Fahrplanauskunft](https://www.rmv.de/)

Stay: 7 studios in Darmstadt-Bessungen – https://darmstadt-ferienwohnung.de/en/index.html.md