• Hexcel will occupy Hall 5, Booth H57, unveiling a suite of next generation composites that underline its role as a key partner for commercial aerospace, defense & space and automotive.
• New Product Line Up: Highlights include HexPly® M51 rapid cure prepreg for high rate press molding, Towpreg thermoset for filament winding, HexTow® IM11 R carbon fiber, HexPly® M949 cosmetic prepreg, and HexShape® woven net shape textiles for complex 3D geometries.
• Industrial Collaboration: Hexcel demonstrates its ability to rely on trusted partners, through new manufacturing collaborations with FACC, Duqueine, ATC, FLYING WHALES, Arkema, RIMAC and NOVATION. This partnership-driven approach also extends to customers, through new products developed in coordination with key clients.
• Sustainability Alliance: Hexcel works hand in hand with industrial partners across the entire supply chain to give carbon composites a second life and help build a robust circular economy. The company is also actively engaged in industry associations and partnerships to support ongoing developments. Collaboration is essential to making circularity a reality.
STAMFORD, Conn., March 5 , 2026 – From March 10-12, Hexcel Corporation (NYSE: HXL) will showcase its latest lightweight composite solutions at JEC World 2026 at Paris Nord Villepinte. The Hexcel booth will feature a diverse portfolio of lightweight material solutions spanning high-performance carbon fibers, multi-weave fabrics, prepregs, resins, film adhesives, foaming films, honeycomb cores, and precision-machinable tooling, as well as scalable thermoplastic solutions for next-generation aerospace structures. This extensive range directly reflects Hexcel’s purpose: Lightweighting to Propel the Future.
“JEC World is where our industry looks for what comes next, and Hexcel is proud to be at the forefront with our lightweight, advanced composite material solutions,” said Tom Gentile, Chairman, CEO and President, Hexcel. “Across aerospace and defense and industrial markets, our advanced composite technologies continue to offer customers material solutions that offer the performance, quality, and efficiency they need.”
FACC Ultra-Performance (UP)-Wing Demonstrator: A Success Story Made Possible by a close Customer Collaboration
The FACC UP-Wing Demonstrator, developed in coordination with a key customer under the Clean Aviation project, is a high-performance composite structure featuring integrated box profiles, engineered and built entirely with Hexcel’s advanced aerospace materials. Designed to meet the demands of complex 3D geometries and high-rate production, the program highlights cutting-edge composite architecture and manufacturing expertise.
This demonstrator showcases Hexcel’s continuous-fiber products, both in prepreg and injection technologies, delivering lightweight performance, structural efficiency and dimensional precision aligned with aerospace requirements. Optimized for industrial scalability, it reflects the ability to combine advanced materials with robust high-rate manufacturing processes.
Beyond its technical achievements, the UP-Wing Demonstrator represents a true collaboration success story with a key customer, demonstrating Hexcel’s client-first approach and its position as a trusted partner for next-generation aerospace structures.
HexPly® M51: Cutting-edge Prepreg for High-rate Press Molding
HexPly® M51 is a new, rapid-curing prepreg specifically designed for the high-rate production of primary structural composite parts using hot-in/hot-out press curing. It delivers an optimal balance of speed, efficiency, and performance to meet the demanding requirements of primary aerospace applications.
With a rapid cure cycle of 40 minutes at 180°C, HexPly® M51 significantly reduces production time and cost. It boosts productivity, reduces tooling and factory footprint, and lowers labor needs. HexPly® M51 demonstrates mechanical performance equivalent to standard 180°C cure primary structural prepregs.
HexPly® M51 is suited for aerospace components manufactured by press molding and also for a wide range of processing methods. Its versatility extends to other sectors requiring high-rate composite manufacturing. Its handling and tack characteristics are fully compatible with automated processes like tape laying (ATL), automated fiber placement (AFP) and pick-and-place processes.
A Thermoset Press Moulded Commercial Aerospace Wheel, manufactured in collaboration with DUQUEINE as part of the CORAC-TRIER program, funded by DGAC and led by SAFRAN, has been manufactured using HexPly® M51 with rapid cure and without post cure. The part is displayed at INNOVATION PLANET.
Towpreg: Hexcel’s Latest Thermoset for Filament Winding
The new hot melt Towpreg range combines the performance benefits of Hexcel’s intermediate modulus carbon fibers with its unique expertise in epoxy resins and processing development, which ensures effective impregnation and high production throughput.
Manufactured in partnership with RIMAC Machines, Towpreg delivers precise resin content due to a novel impregnation process. Compared to conventional wet winding, it enables faster processing while reducing machine cleaning and down time. The combination of high-performance carbon fibers, fast cure and high temperature resins maximizes the performance of the final component.
Hexcel Towpreg is well suited for high-performance electric motors, as the hoop strength achieved in the carbon sleeve allows for higher rotational speeds. It can also be used in high-performance filament winding applications such as high-pressure vessels.
HexTow® IM11-R Fiber: New Carbon Fiber Stiffer, Stronger, Lighter
The HexTow® IM11-R carbon fiber is the latest generation of the HexTow® range, engineered to deliver exceptional performance. It combines high strength, lightweight, superior stiffness, electrical conductivity, low thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance.
Designed for the world’s most advanced aerospace and industrial composite applications, HexTow® IM11-R provides exceptional tensile strength and performance benefits. This intermediate modulus fiber offers excellent processability, ensuring near-perfect transfer of its mechanical properties to the overwrap vessel. It also features a proprietary R type sizing, optimized for efficient winding. Hexcel’s IM11-R fiber enables the next generation of Type III and Type IV composite overwrap pressure vessels, providing outstanding burst pressure capability, improved drop resistance, and enhanced overall reliability. These benefits allow for higher operating pressures, increased payload capacity, and greater safety margins in demanding aerospace and space environments, enabling more payload, higher pressure resistance, and better drop resistance.
HexPly® M949: Next-Generation Cosmetic Prepreg for Automotive
Manufactured by NOVATION through compression molding, the HexPly® M949 is a toughened, rapid-curing epoxy prepreg for high-quality carbon-look surfaces. Suitable for both press and autoclave, it delivers an exceptional surface finish combined with a high thermal resistance. Including 15% of bio-based carbon content, HexPly® M949 contributes to reducing the environmental impact while providing exceptional performances.
Initially developed for the automotive industry, HexPly® M949 is suitable for all visible carbon applications. It was designed for high-end exterior and interior cosmetic parts cured in press or autoclave, including components exposed to elevated temperatures.
Hexcel will promote its recycled carbon fiber (rCF) prepreg range, illustrating the company’s commitment to more sustainable composite solutions that lower carbon footprint and reduce landfill waste.
An automotive demonstrator part, another bonnet with recycled carbon fiber, showcases the capability to integrate rCF backing plies with virgin carbon fiber surfaces and Class A painted finishes, illustrating how sustainability and premium aesthetics can be achieved together in high end cosmetic applications.
HexShape®: Innovative Textile for Complex Shapes
HexShape® enhances composite manufacturing with advanced woven net-shape fabrics engineered for complex 3D geometries. By integrating the final shape directly into the textile stage, it simplifies production, reduces material waste, and improves structural performance.
Single or multiple preforms are tailored to each part’s requirements. Its continuous-fiber architecture ensures optimized mechanical properties, uniform fiber distribution, and strong dimensional stability across complex shapes. Available in carbon, glass, or quartz fibers with multiple weaving styles, HexShape® provides high design flexibility. Compatible with infusion, RTM, and prepreg processes, it delivers an advanced, high-performance textile solution for the demanding composite applications of commercial aerospace and defense sectors.
Advanced HexPly® PEKK/IM7 Thermoplastic Composite Structural Solutions
Hexcel, in collaboration with ARKEMA, presents advanced thermoplastic composite structural components thanks to our partners: HUTCHINSON and ATC based on HexPly® PEKK/IM7, demonstrating the industrial readiness of continuous manufacturing processes for next generation aerospace structures.
HUTCHINSON has developed an engineered U shape structural profile manufactured using its Hutforming® continuous process, delivering increased stiffness and strength, essential for structural applications.
In parallel, ATC has produced an Omega stringer using a Continuous Compression Molding (CCM) process. Stringers up to 10 meters in length have been demonstrated, with capability for longer parts. The solution is compatible with welding technologies, supporting future integration of stiffeners in aircraft fuselage panels.
Together, these developments highlight the potential of high-performance thermoplastic composites and continuous processing technologies to enable efficient, scalable, and high performance structural solutions for aerospace applications.
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About Hexcel
Hexcel Corporation is a global leader in advanced lightweight composites technology. We provide innovative, high-performance material solutions that are lighter, stronger, and tougher, shaping a world that moves farther, smarter, and more efficiently. Our broad and unrivaled product range includes carbon fiber, specialty reinforcements, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, honeycomb, resins, engineered core, and composite structures for use in commercial aerospace, defense and space, and industrial applications.
Contacts
Hexcel | Sophie MEYNIEL | Senior Manager, Marketing Communications Aerospace Europe, MEA, Asia Pacific & Industrial | Sophie.Meyniel@Hexcel.com | +33 4 72 25 26 27
Publicis | Lea GUIGOU | Lea.Guigou@Publicis.com | +33 6 16 18 59 30
