Anaheim, Calif. - The new Hexcel Corp. will supply customers with everything "from material science to finished product," Juergen Habermeier, president and chief operating officer, said March 25. He discussed consolidations and cost struggles, noting, "Industry must get costs down to get on new production" programs. In a major consolidation, Hexcel acquired Ciba-Geigy Ltd.'s composites division Feb. 29 and now faces "a two-to three-year process to get capacity on an even keel." Habermeier said. Hexcel has 16 facilities in six countries.
The joint venture of Hexcel and Dainippon Ink and Chemical Corp. was qualified in mid-March for carbon fiber prepreg production in Komatsu, Japan, under Boeing Co.'s material specification 256, said Thomas Lahey, president of Hexcel's Pacific Rim business unit. He anticipates Hexcel revenue from the Pacific Rim will reach $50 million this year. The region is a strategic target for the structural material firm, which seeks to follow anticipated aircraft production programs.
Hexcel of Pleasanton, Calif., set April 19 as the date for determining stockholders eligible to vote at an annual meeting scheduled for May 23, contingent on Securities and Exchange Commission review.