[citation needed] The company's first contract was for the research and development of honeycomb materials for use in radar domes on military aircraft.

The landing pads on the lunar module Apollo 11 that carried men to the moon in 1969 were built from Hexcel honeycomb materials.

[citation needed] In the 1980s, Hexcel purchased Stevens-Genin S.A., a French company that manufactured glass-fiber and woven industrial materials.

[12][13] In 1986, Hexcel made most of the material used in the fuselage and wings of the Rutan Voyager – the first aircraft to make a nonstop, around-the-world trip on a single tank of fuel.

[21] In July 2018, Hexcel opened an integrated factory in Salaise-sur-Sanne near Lyon, manufacturing polyacrylonitrile (PAN), the carbon fiber precursor, the second after its Decatur, Alabama plant.

[24] Hexcel is creating a new R&D site in Les Avenieres, also near Lyon, focusing on out of autoclave processes, including resin-transfer molding and resin film infusion to target lower production costs for Airbus' future single-aisle family.

[24] Using a thermoplastic resin jointly developed with chemicals specialist Arkema, as opposed to thermoset, would accelerate assembly, cut manufacturing costs and lighten structures.