Hexcel Corporation is an American
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
industrial materials company, based in
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
. The company develops and manufactures structural materials. Hexcel was formed from the combination of California Reinforced Plastics (founded 1948), Ciba Composites (acquired 1995) and Hercules Composites Products Division (acquired 1995). The company sells its products in commercial, military and recreational markets for use in commercial and military
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
,
space launch vehicle
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and syste ...
s and
satellites,
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
blade
A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historic ...
s,
sports equipment
Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...
and
automotive products. Hexcel works with
Airbus Group
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
,
The Boeing Company
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
, and others. Since 1980, the firm has publicly traded on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
under the ticker symbol HXL.
History
1948–1970s
Hexcel, originally named the California Reinforced Plastics Company, was founded in 1948 by a group of engineers from the
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...
. The company's first contract was for the research and development of honeycomb materials for use in radar domes on military aircraft.
In 1954, the company changed its name to ''Hexcel Products, Inc.'' The name was derived from the hexagonal cell-shaped honeycomb materials manufactured by the company.
In the 1960s, Hexcel sold aluminum honeycomb and pre-impregnated fiberglass to Hubert A. Zemke and
Dave McCoy
David McCoy (August 24, 1915 – February 8, 2020) was an American skier and businessman who founded the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1942.
Early life
McCoy was born in El Segundo, California, in August 1915. He spent the first six years of his l ...
for use in building skis.
Hexcel expanded from military and commercial aviation to the
United States space program
The United States has developed many space programs since the beginning of the spaceflight era in the mid-20th century. The United States Government delivers space program solutions from three primary agencies: NASA for civil space; DoD for Mil ...
. The landing pads on the lunar module
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
that carried men to the moon in 1969 were built from Hexcel honeycomb materials.
In 1970, Hexcel licensed the ski from McCoy. A few years later, Hexcel decided to focus on its core aerospace business and sold the ski enterprise to Hanson Boots.
1980s–2000
In the 1980s, Hexcel purchased Stevens-Genin S.A., a French company that manufactured glass-fiber and woven industrial materials.
In 1981, it provided materials for the nose, doors and wings of the space shuttle Columbia. In 1986, Hexcel made most of the material used in the fuselage and wings of the aircraft Voyager – the first aircraft to make a nonstop, around-the-world trip on a single tank of fuel.
2000–2019
In 2017, Hexcel was selected by Airbus to supply the composite materials for the H160 helicopter's fuselage structures and rotor blades. Hexcel acquired the aerospace and defense business of Oxford Performance Materials, a manufacturer of carbon fiber-reinforced 3D printed parts for commercial aerospace and space and defense applications.
In March 2018, Hexcel opened its manufacturing facility at the MidParc Free Trade Zone in
Casablanca, Morocco. The facility oversees the transformation of lightweight honeycomb materials into engineered core parts for aircraft structures, engine nacelles and helicopter blades. Hexcel also signed a strategic alliance with Arkema in Colombes, France, to combine work in carbon fiber and PEKK. The alliance will result in a joint research and development laboratory in France. The companies aim to develop carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tapes to produce lightweight parts for aircraft.
Also in 2018, Hexcel opened a carbon fiber plant at the Les Roches-Roussillon Chemicals Industry Platform in
Isère
Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.[Tour de France à la voile
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...]
.
In July 2018, Hexcel opened an integrated factory in
Salaise-sur-Sanne near
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, manufacturing
polyacrylonitrile
Polyacrylonitrile (PAN), also known as polyvinyl cyanide and Creslan 61, is a synthetic, semicrystalline organic polymer resin, with the linear formula (C3H3N)n. Though it is thermoplastic, it does not melt under normal conditions. It degrades bef ...
(PAN), the carbon fiber precursor, the second after its
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler La ...
plant.
In December 2018, Hexcel announced the hiring of Colleen Pritchett as President - Aerospace, in America. In March 2019, Hexcel partnered with Lavoiseier Composites to up-cycle composite by-products to reduce emissions of 13 kg per kg of Carbonium used.
Financial data
Acquisitions
* 1996 – Ciba Composites
* 1996 – Hercules Composites Products Division
* 1997 – Fiberite satellite prepreg business
*2017 – Oxford Performance Materials Aerospace & Defense Business
*2017 – Structil SA
*2018 - ARC Technologies
References
{{Authority control
Manufacturing companies established in 1948
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Manufacturing companies based in Connecticut
Companies based in Stamford, Connecticut
Aerospace materials
Aerospace companies of the United States
American companies established in 1948
1980s initial public offerings