Anticipating Industry Trends... HEXCEL CORPORATION
Hexcel, publicly traded as HXL, is a leading producer of advanced composite materials used primarily by the commercial aerospace and defense industries. Hexcel materials are used on virtually every commercial and military aircraft produced in the modern world, and in thousands of other products from wind turbine blades to satellites to hockey sticks and automobiles.
Early in 2002, Greenbriar identified Hexcel as an attractive aerospace supplier that had too much debt and was facing a difficult environment post September 11, 2001. Greenbriar anticipated the accelerated adoption of composites on new commercial aircraft as well as the recovery in the aerospace cycle and successfully pursued a PIPE investment in the Company.
Over its investment period, Greenbriar actively participated in developing the company’s strategic plan, raised the company’s profile with key aerospace executives and played a meaningful role in structuring the company’s recapitalization. Greenbriar monetized its investment between December 2004 and May 2006. Following Greenbriar’s monetization, Joel Beckman remained a Director of Hexcel.