An exciting challenge: the beginning of our first factory

One of our main objectives for 2022 is to launch our factory in a short period and with a high required level. Indeed, following our fundraising at the end of 2021, we wish to start our manufacturing during the second quarter of 2022. Our objective was to recycle and produce our material based on recycled carbon fibers before the summer to meet our customers’ and investors’ expectations and create the path toward our mission.

 

The circularity

Since the creation of FAIRMAT, we’ve been driven by our engagement to give a second breath to what makes our daily life easier. As much as we did focus on circularity for carbon fiber, we also valued it for our industrial development. So instead of sacrificing some precious acres of land and building our production site from scratch, we chose to take over an existing plant. We also wanted to offer a job opportunity to the former site employees who had lost their job due to the pandemic. We are proud to have recruited 7 former employees and together we’re building our industrial process.

The safety

Our first milestone for the launch of the FAIRFACTORY was to ensure that our activity could be done in a safe environment. So it seemed essential to be aware and inform the team about the existing risks, help them better control and deploy appropriate work methods, and provide the needed support. That’s why our QHSE manager joined the team in advance to prepare the factory and all the mandatory actions to secure it.

The mindset

Then, a specific time has been dedicated to presenting Fairmat’s vision focused on creating a sustainable future for fiber carbon composite. After we focused on Fairmat’s ambition for the next months and years, we took another time to share the four values of Fairmat: honesty, determination, pragmatism, and engagement. We also discussed our approach to developing the industrial process, and it was enriching to hear everyone’s feedback and witness their motivation.

So the production team took up residence in our factory at the beginning of March. Their integration finished, and they started conducting tests to validate the R&D parameters and recycling the materials we receive from our customers. The first recycled scraps from Hexcel are a positive start for the planet.

It is just the beginning of our adventure!