Inside Composites talks to Oliver Wessely, Director of Sales & Marketing for Non-Crimp Fabric at Hexcel.

Inside Composites: Please can you tell us a little about the background of the company, prior to becoming Hexcel Reinforcements UK in January this year?

Oliver Wessely: The journey from Formax to Hexcel Reinforcements UK has been a remarkable one. In 1998 we emerged from within an existing textile business based in Leicester, the textiles capital of the UK. The directors of this business recognised a gap in the market for high performance technical textile reinforcements and founded Formax, with the aim of providing performance enhancing multiaxial reinforcements to the marine and industrial markets. In 2001, UK textiles company James Dewhurst purchased 50% of Formax's equity and the company continued to grow consistently, earning a reputation for its approachable ethos and its ability to deliver and engineer optimised reinforcements that met customers’ specific needs. In 2005, the company delivered its first shipment of wind energy fabric to the Austrian site of composites giant Hexcel. In 2010, Formax was awarded the contract to supply carbon reinforcements for the crash tub of McLaren’s P11, and as a result, 2014 saw the opening of its dedicated € 2.5 million Automotive Centre...

Read the full interview on our Inside Composites website