SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn., May 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oxford Performance Materials, Inc. (OPM), a leading advanced materials and additive manufacturing (3D printing) company, today announced that it has closed on a strategic investment from Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL). Hexcel, a fellow Connecticut-based company, is a leading supplier of advanced composites for commercial aerospace, space and defense and industrial applications, and OPM utilizes Hexcel carbon fiber in the production of its 3D printed OXFAB® ESD structural parts for a range of satellite and aerospace programs.
OPM and Hexcel are both innovators in materials science and recognized for developing and producing enabling technologies that combine structural strength and enhanced performance at reduced weight. Each company focuses on breakthrough technology solutions that address fundamental global needs in transport, performance and energy efficiency, and Hexcel has noted with interest OPM’s unique high performance additive manufacturing (HPAM™) IP as applied to carbon fiber reinforced 3D printed structures.
“Hexcel represents the gold standard in carbon fiber and composite material technologies, and our core target markets are extremely complementary,” stated Scott DeFelice, OPM’s Chairman and CEO. “Hexcel’s investment in OPM will help enable us to further expand production capacity to meet rapidly growing market demand for our OXFAB® technology. In addition, this investment sets the stage for joint technology collaboration and business development efforts with Hexcel.”
Hexcel Chairman, CEO and President Nick Stanage said, “Aerospace adoption of reinforced manufactured parts using Hexcel carbon fiber is becoming a viable and meaningful design solution due to its performance and processing advantages. With the adoption of these lightweight, high-performing materials expected to accelerate, this is an ideal opportunity for our two companies to work together enabling faster product development and adoption for our customers.”
About Oxford Performance Materials, Inc.
Oxford Performance Materials Inc. (OPM) is a recognized leader in advanced materials science and has developed a range of 3D printing and high performance additive manufacturing (HPAM™) technologies that deliver fully functional end-use products to the biomedical, aerospace, and industrial markets. Founded in 2000, the Company’s focus has been on high performance polymers, and OPM has developed a range of unique, enterprise-level additive manufacturing solutions utilizing its proprietary OXPEKK® polymer formulations and additive manufacturing processes. OPM's Aerospace & Industrial group delivers 3D printed OXFAB® production parts for a range of highly demanding aerospace, satellite and defense applications. OXFAB structures offer significant weight and cost reduction that are defined in a set of specified performance attributes in the exhaustive OPM B-Basis database, developed in conjunction with NASA. For more information, please visit: www.oxfordpm.com
About Hexcel Corporation
Hexcel Corporation is a leading advanced composites company. It develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance structural materials, including carbon fibers, reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb, matrix systems, adhesives and composite structures, used in commercial aerospace, space and defense and industrial applications such as wind turbine blades. For more information, please visit: www.hexcel.com