JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015 - 27

investment

Hexcel to build carbon fibre plant in France

As part of a new programme, Hexcel will invest USD250 million
in new precursor and carbonization lines to create a diversified
global supply chain for the aerospace industry, an application
sector that accounts for more than 85% of the group's business.

excel Corporation announced on
30 September that it will expand its
carbon fibre production capacity
through the addition of new precursor and
carbon fibre lines in Roussillon, France.
The USD250 million investment will also
include the associated quality control laboratories and offices.

A strategic sector
The new facility is part of the group's
ongoing worldwide investment to create a
diversified and robust global supply chain
to support aerospace customers' growing
demand for carbon fibre composites. In
recent years, Hexcel has increased its precursor and carbon fibre capacities through
targeted expansions at existing facilities.

partnership between Airbus and Hexcel.
Construction of the new plant will begin
by mid-2015 and it is expected to employ
120 people when fully operational in early
2018.

JEC Composites Magazine: Are the
aerospace and industrial markets that you
support growing enough so that you need
to invest in a carbon plant?

fibre composites to support the increasing
requirements of our aerospace customers.

Thierry Merlot :Yes, this new plant

Thierry Merlot
VP & General Manager
Europe / MEA / Asia Pacific
Hexcel

is part of the commitment we made to
our customers to add capacity in Europe
when we were awarded the A350 XWB
contract and also the contract for the Leap
fan blades and containment cases. To date,
750 A350 XWB have been ordered by 39
customers and 7600 Leap 1A/B/C are
on order, so Hexcel needs this capacity
to meet the growing demand for carbon

Strong presence in Europe
With this programme, Hexcel is investing
in its first precursor plant in Europe and
first carbon fibre capacity in France. The
state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that
will be built demonstrate the company's
commitment to technology expansion
around the world to provide an efficient
global supply chain in support of customer
programmes. The new plant will further
strengthen their customer relationships,
provide greater opportunities for aerospace
industry growth and reinforce Hexcel's
position as a global leader in carbon fibre
composites.

JCM: Your announcement follows the
inauguration of another PAN manufacturing plant in France, can you describe the
market conditions?

T.M. : On the one hand, a pure coinci-

dence, on the other hand it further demonstrates the very dynamic increase in
demand for carbon fibre of both industrial
and aerospace markets. At Hexcel, we will
be manufacturing aerospace grade
materials, identical to the PAN and

No94 January - February 2015 /

Feature Carbon

interview

Most notably, the group is investing in
ongoing precursor and carbon fibre expansions at its U.S. facilities and is currently
installing its industry-leading resin mixing
and filming technology - first developed
in Europe - in the U.S. The new facility
in France is the next step in support of
European customers, enhancing the supply
chain by adding precursor and additional
carbon fibre capacity in Europe.
The new French plant will occupy a
-15-hectare site at the Osiris chemicals
industry platform in Roussillon, which
is close to Hexcel's weaving and prepreg
manufacturing facilities near Lyon. Carbon
fibre from the new plant will be supplied
to customers including Airbus for the
A350 XWB and Safran for the CFM LEAP
engine. This decision supports Airbus requirements for A350 XWB composite primary structures and underlines the strong

jec composites magazine 27

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015