JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #105 - June 2016 - 4

point of view: eastern promises

"My vision was always to become a high-volume
producer for automotive & aerospace OEMs."

Patrick Hessel
CEO

c2i (Composites Innovation
International)

JEC Composites Magazine: What
are the milestones in your professional path and in the developement of c2i ? In wich sectors
does c2i operate and what's its
position on the global composites
materials value chain ?

Patrick Hessel:

c2i (short for Composites
Innovations International)
was established in 2005 after I
finished my studies and decided
that I wanted to start my own
business rather than working in
a corporation. We started low
volume carbon-fibre components production mostly for
motorsport companies, but my
vision was always to become
a high-volume producer for

top automotive and aerospace
OEMs. c2i is now positioned
among world's top 5 carbon-fibre producers in the automotive
industry supplying as a Tier 1 to
the likes of JLR, Bentley, BMW,
Porsche, Praga, Koenigsegg and
as Tier 2 to Airbus or Boeing.
A year ago we started actively
to develop the aerospace sector
and currently we have over 120
staff working only on aerospace.
Going forward, we are particularly interested in developing the
aerostructures industry as well as
high-volume automotive.
JCM: What makes your facility in
Slovakia the « state-of-the-art »
in composites materials manufacturing?

P. H. : Our 13 000 sqm facility
in Dunajska Streda, Slovakia is a

About c2i

c2i engineers and manufactures carbon-fibre components
and assemblies for automotive and aerospace industry.
Based in Dunajska Streda, Slovakia, we are 40 km from Bratislava and 100 km from Vienna Airport.
The company produces both carbon-look and structural
components incl. monocoques mainly using Prepreg/Autoclave and high-pressure RTM. For special projects c2i

4 jec composites magazine / No105 June 2016

interview

Founded in 2005 by Patrick Hessel, c2i is specialised in carbon-fibre
components manufacturing and assemblies. The company has grown rapidly
in the aeronautics and automotive fields due to a brand new equipment and a
unique technology concentration in Slovakia. Located at the cross of western
and eastern Europe, Patrick Hessel introduces for us his strategy and vision on
composites.

The key OEM decision
making criteria for
selecting a supplier
are based on 9 criteria
among others price,
on-time delivery,
capacity, previous
reputation

one-stop shop for development
and production of advanced
composites components. The facility was set-up 3 years ago and
can be considered state-of-theart due to the efficient flow of
material and components moving through the facility, as well as
the large clean room of 1500 m2
and the wide range of capabilities
we have under one roof. As such,
we engineer and manufacture
carbon-fibre components and
assemblies acting as technology
partner to our clients. c2i is able
to design, engineer carbon-fibre
components and perform a
complete component simulation
such as static, dynamic, crash
and pedestrian impact analysis.
We design and manufacture our
tools, forms and jigs in-house.
The component production

develops custom production technology in-house.
c2i currently employs 400 people and is undergoing further
growth.
c2i offers complex component engineering consultancy
whereby the components are engineered and virtually CAE
tested. As composites specialists the team will design
components with dfm (design for manufacturing) in mind
ensuring the best possible design for lowest possible manufacturing costs.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #105 - June 2016