Exhibit 99.1

Hexcel Corporation Describes the Accounting for the December 2004 Conversion of
Mandatorily Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Secondary Offering of
Common Stock

     STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 2005--Hexcel Corporation
(NYSE/PCX: HXL) today described the financial statement accounting of the
secondary offering of 24,149,998 shares of Hexcel's common stock by certain of
its stockholders and the related conversion of mandatorily redeemable
convertible preferred stock that were completed in December 2004. In the fourth
quarter of 2004, the Company will record two non-recurring charges related to
these transactions.

     --   A non-cash charge of $12.9 million related to the conversion of 23,916
          shares of series A and 77,875 shares of series B mandatorily
          redeemable convertible preferred stock into common stock. The charge
          represents a pro-rata portion of the unamortized beneficial conversion
          feature, issuance discount and deferred costs remaining from the
          original issuance of the securities. The charge will be included in
          "deemed preferred dividends and accretion" in the Company's fourth
          quarter statement of operations. Deemed preferred dividends and
          accretion will total $16.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2004,
          consisting of this charge and the on-going quarterly amortization of
          deemed preferred dividends and accretion. These charges will not be
          tax affected. Following the conversion, Hexcel had 53.6 million shares
          of common stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2004.

     --   Transaction costs of $1.1 million related to the secondary offering
          included in selling, general and administrative expenses.

     In addition to these charges, as previously disclosed, the Company will
also recognize an expense of $1.6 million in connection with its purchase of
$23.0 million principal amount of its senior subordinated notes due 2009. These
expenses relate to the premiums paid on repurchase as well as the related
write-off of unamortized financing costs and issuance discount. The total of
these three non-recurring charges for the fourth quarter is $15.6 million.
     The conversion of these mandatorily redeemable convertible preferred shares
will reduce the amounts of "deemed preferred dividends and accretion" Hexcel
recognizes in each subsequent accounting period in its statement of operations
from the amounts indicated by the Company in its Form 8-K published on April 4,
2003 following the initial issuance of the securities. The table below
summarizes the amounts of "deemed preferred dividends and accretion" the Company
will report each year absent further conversions by the holders of these
securities, or their mandatory conversion to common stock under the terms of the
mandatorily redeemable convertible preferred stock:

(In millions)       2005     2006     2007     2008     2009     2010
Deemed preferred
dividends and
accretion           $9.2     $9.5     $9.7    $10.1    $10.4     $0.6

     The balance of the mandatorily redeemable convertible preferred stock as of
December 31, 2004 was $90.5 million and reflects the aforementioned conversion
of mandatorily redeemable convertible preferred stock and quarterly deemed
dividends and accretion. Absent further conversions to common stock under their
terms, the balance sheet carrying value of the mandatorily redeemable
convertible preferred stock as of December 31 of each year will be:

(In millions)       2005     2006     2007     2008     2009     2010
Mandatorily
redeemable
convertable
preferred stock    $99.7   $109.2   $118.9   $129.0   $139.4   $140.0

     The mandatorily redeemable convertible preferred stock will automatically
convert under their terms into common stock on or after March 20, 2006 if the
price of Hexcel common stock is at or above $9 per share for the previous
consecutive sixty trading days. The holders can also require conversion of some
or all of the securities to common stock at their election. Upon such
conversion, Hexcel will record a further non-cash charge(s) to reflect any
pro-rata unamortized accretion related to the securities. Under their terms, if
the securities are still outstanding, they are mandatorily redeemable by the
Company on January 22, 2010.

     Hexcel Corporation is a leading advanced structural materials company. It
develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance reinforcement
products, composite materials and composite structures for use in commercial
aerospace, space and defense, electronics, and industrial applications.

     CONTACT: Hexcel Corporation
              Financial:
              Stephen C. Forsyth, 203-969-0666, ext. 425
              stephen.forsyth@hexcel.com
               or
              Media:
              Michael W. Bacal, 203-969-0666, ext. 426
              michael.bacal@hexcel.com