Hexcel and Gazechim Join to Provide Kitting Services to Aerospace, Defense and Industrial Markets

Hexcel Corporation (NYSE: HXL) and Groupe Gazechim Composites, an official Hexcel distributor for more than 20 years, reach an agreement to provide customized kitting services for advanced composite materials sold to aerospace and defense customers and for high-performance industrial applications.

The joint venture, named HexCut Services, brings together Hexcel—a leader in advanced composites—and Gazechim—a leader in distribution and logistics—to provide pan-European kitting services that will include Hexcel’s innovative carbon fiber prepreg and other composite materials, such as adhesives and fabrics, for aerospace, defense and industrial applications. Pre-cut kits save customers time and investment, reduce inventory and minimize material losses through scrap reduction.

Gazechim’s existing kitting plant in Maulévrier, 75 kilometers east of Nantes (France), acquired in 2016, will be the initial hub for providing pre-cut kits to customers as well as central services in the future to a network of local kitting facilities in Europe.

Thierry Merlot, Hexcel president-Aerospace, Europe, MEA and Asia/Pacific, says, “This is a great opportunity for us to join together with Gazechim, a trusted and well-established partner, to offer our leading advanced composite products to customers in a way that helps them become more productive and profitable.”

Gazechim will own a majority share of the joint venture. Jean Guittard, chairman of Gazechim, says, “This project marks a new era between Hexcel and Gazechim and consolidates our long-term partnership of almost 20 years.”