Sean Broderick's aviation career started in 1991, working for Airbus in Toulouse. His industry experience includes four years with an aviation consultancy, where he worked on the successful launch of a U.S. Part 121 carrier; 12 years with an airport association as a magazine editor and communications executive; and more than 15 years of full- and part-time work as a journalist, writing about air transport and business aviation. &nbsp;
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Writer

Sean Broderick

Airbus Helicopters has tapped long-time supplier Hexcel (Chalet 111) to provide composite materials for a range of H160 helicopter parts, including the fuselage, tail boom, and rotor blades, the companies revealed yesterday at the Paris Air Show.


The advanced-composites specialist will supply reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb, and adhesives for the medium-utility helicopter program, slated to enter service in 2019. France has chosen the H160 to replace six models flying with its three armed forces branches.


The deal is Hexcel's latest in a 40-year relationship with Airbus, and underscores a strong growth trend for commerical aerospace composites suppliers.


About 70 percent of Hexcel’s $2.0 billion in annual sales comes from commercial aerospace, and the percentage should grow as manufacturers take advantage of the technology, Thierry Merlot, Hexcel president EMEA said. Hexcel has about $450,000 worth of material on each A320 airframe produced, but the figure is $5 million for an A350.


The company is scaling up to meet demand. A new, $250 million carbon fiber plant in Roussillon, France, is set to open later this year and be fully operational in early 2018, Merlot said.


With the expansion comes opportunity to boost efficiencies—something that the manufacturers are seeking as they look to cut supply-chain costs. "Ramp-up volumes are opportunities for our customers and us to take costs out through streamlining and [improved] logistics,” Merlot said. “The cost pressure is clear. The way to respond is through innovation and technology.” &nbsp;

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