Hexcel (Stamford, Connecticut / USA; www.hexcel.com) has officially opened its new 150,000 m² production facility for PAN precursors and carbon fibres at Roussillon / France. This follows four years of planning and construction – see Plasteurope.com of 03.10.2014. The US company does not list nameplate capacities at the facility, but these are likely around 2,500-3,000 t/y of carbon fibres and about 5,000 t/y of PAN precursors.

Hexcel says the new plant will generate 120 direct and 250 indirect jobs. The company’s French workforce now comprises 1,200 people, with more than 1,000 employees in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Along with its existing fibre, prepreg and other processing lines in France, at Dagneux and Les Avenières, the EUR 200m plant is part of an extensive integrated production chain. "The site has already received its first aerospace certifications," said Hexcel's EMEA president Thierry Merlot.

Hexcel also has announced the launch of a new R&D centre at Les Avenières, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2019. The centre has a focus on new processes and technologies that will support innovations in composites for aircraft structures.