Hexcel and Fairmat expand composite material recycling

Hexcel Corp. and Fairmat have announced a 10-year agreement to recycle carbon fiber composite materials from Hexcel Salt Lake City for reuse in composite materials sold into various commercial markets.  

Fairmat recently opened its new 15,000-square-foot recycling facility near the Hexcel Salt Lake City site, which is the largest high-performance carbon fiber manufacturing facility in North America, according to the company. Under the agreement, Fairmat will recycle Hexcel’s composite material scrap at its new site.  

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Like the collaboration established previously with Hexcel composite material manufacturing sites in Europe, this agreement underscores both companies' dedication to sustainable solutions and long-term collaboration, the partners say. 

“This is a significant stride toward advancing sustainability in our carbon fiber industry," Fairmat founder and CEO Benjamin Saada says. "With our new state-of-the-art Utah facility, office and the U.S. leadership team in place, we are ready to work closely with our long-term partner, Hexcel Corp., which is equally committed to reducing waste and bringing sustainable solutions to market.”  

Hexcel President Philippe Chevrier says the team is eager to expand its existing relationship with Fairmat in the U.S. at its Salt Lake City manufacturing site. 

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“Hexcel is strongly committed to responsible environmental stewardship, not only by reducing carbon emissions through the use of our lightweight composite materials on commercial aircraft but also by reducing landfill waste of scrap materials,” he says. “Hexcel has a robust carbon fiber recycling program in place, and this latest agreement with Fairmat to recycle composite materials expands our efforts and bolsters our shared commitment to sustainability.”  

Hexcel has established several long-term sustainability goals and targets to be achieved by 2030. This includes a 30 percent reduction of waste to landfill. The list of sustainability commitments can be found here.