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Hexcel Polyspeed® laminates enable Elan to produce the lightest ever snowboard



Hexcel Composites Ltd -Duxford, Cambridge CB2 4QD, United Kingdom Telephone +44 (0)1223 833141

Major ski and snowboard manufacturer, Elan, has developed one of the lightest snowboards in the industry using Hexcel's ultra-light Polyspeed® glass/epoxy laminates. The 04/05 Inverse is up to 600 grams lighter than boards of equivalent performance, with a weight-saving of 30 to 40%. The Inverse features a complete tip-to-tail wood core, sandwiched between skins of Hexcel's special ultra light Polyspeed® laminates. The board is finished with the second generation of Elan's DG topsheet.

Polyspeed® is a range of carbon- and glass-reinforced epoxy laminates, supplied on a roll or in sheet form. The reinforcements are woven, uni- or bi-directional, depending on performance requirements. The precise resin and fibre volume content enables snowboard manufacturers to mass produce skis and snowboards with precise control over thickness and weight. Hexcel is a major supplier of laminates and prepregs to skis and snowboard manufacturers.

Hexcel Corporation is a leading advanced structural materials company. It develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance reinforcement products, composite materials and composite structures for use in commercial aerospace, space and defence, electronics, and industrial applications.

Contact: Rachel Atkinson
Tel: +44 1223 838370
Rachel.Atkinson@hexcel-eu.com



June 21, 2004