Hexcel Corp. (Stamford, Conn.; www.hexcel.com) recently broke ground on a new $20-million engineered core facility at the MidParc Free Trade Zone Industrial Park in Casablanca, Morocco. Presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony were Hexcel vice president and general manager, Thierry Merlot, and Mr. Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Moroccan Minister for Industry, Commerce, Investment and Digital Economy.
When fully operational in 2017, the facility will convert HexWeb honeycomb materials into engineered core parts that are used for structural reinforcement and lightweighting in aerospace applications, including aircraft structures, engine nacelles and helicopter blades. In the interim, Hexcel will occupy a temporary facility on the Midparc site that will begin operating in Q4 2016. The plant is expected to employ more than 200 people by 2020.
The Casablanca facility is part of Hexcel’s ongoing worldwide investment to create a diversified and robust global supply chain to support aerospace customers’ growing demand for engineered core. In recent years, Hexcel has increased capacity at existing plants to support its engineered core business and plans further expansions to capture additional opportunities in a global market with excellent growth potential.