In Profile:
HILITECH

Name: Manfred Nagl
Company Name: HILITECH
Position Within Company: CEO
Website: https://hilitech.at/

Tell us a little about the company background:

HILITECH brings precision, elegance and performance together in one seamless portfolio. As a composite competence center, we unite boutique manufacturing, radical lightweight solutions, and composite décor surfaces into one promise: uncompromising quality with the freedom to create.

Our composite décor turns surfaces into statements. Perfectly aligned fibers, deep finishes, and certified performance transform every panel, trim, and detail into a lasting signature, in the air, on the water, or on land.

With lightweight solutions, every gram becomes an advantage. Reducing weight by up to 30 % extends range, increases payload, and redefines what space can be in the sky. Formula 1–level engineering merges with refined aesthetics, so every curve and surface embodies strength, safety, and presence.

Our composite boutique shop transforms unique visions into certified reality. From the very first part, craftsmanship and agility come together with robust supply chains to deliver uncompromised quality where it matters most.

Across every service, we combine cutting-edge engineering with a boutique mindset, ensuring that every gram, every surface, and every structure becomes the iconic signature of your project.

How does your company approach each project from concept to completion?:

We approach each project by establishing a clear design and quality framework at the very beginning. This provides a foundation for material expression, surface character and performance expectations, ensuring that every decision aligns with the consistent design intent.

Working with a controlled, flexible process from concept to completion allows different forms, scales and applications to be realised without compromising on style or quality. Craftsmanship, certified processes and close collaboration ensure consistency of the visual language and material integrity throughout the project.

This approach enables us to translate a defined design vision into diverse applications, delivering coherent, intentional and refined results, regardless of the final form.

Where inspires your company in this sector?:

We are inspired by working in environments where there is no room for compromise. Our customers operate in sectors where quality, precision and reliability are non-negotiable and every decision directly impacts performance, safety and perception.

We are driven by challenges where materials must perform flawlessly while allowing for expression and individuality.

Above all, we are passionate about meeting our customers’ challenges. Transforming ambitious concepts into effective solutions for regulated, high-expectation environments is what shapes our approach to thinking, designing and building with composites.

In what direction do you feel that your projects are moving towards in a general sense?:

Our projects are moving towards design-driven composite solutions that offer clarity, consistency and freedom. Rather than seeking individual components, a coherent design language that can be applied consistently across spaces, objects and applications without loss of quality or expression is becoming more common.

We are witnessing a significant shift towards composites that streamline design processes rather than complicate them. Lighter structures, cleaner forms and surfaces with a clear purpose enable designers to prioritise the overall experience over technical constraints.

At the same time, projects are becoming more confident in using composites as visible design elements. Materials are not only expected to perform and comply, but also to actively shape atmosphere, identity and perception. This shift enables the creation of environments that feel intentional, refined and unique.

Name five key themes to consider when approaching projects in the future.:

For future projects, it will be essential to have a clear design intent. Material expression is closely connected to this, with composites being used not only for performance, but also as visible elements that actively shape atmosphere and identity.

Another key theme is consistency across applications. Maintaining the same level of quality, precision, and visual language in different spaces, objects, and scales makes projects feel coherent and complete. This is supported by the concept of certified freedom, which enables creative expression within regulated environments, enabling compliance and aesthetics to reinforce each other rather than compete.

Reducing weight, complexity and visual noise is also important. It helps to create composite solutions that are lighter, calmer and more assured, without compromising on character or presence.

If your company could offer one piece of advice when it comes to projects, what would it be?

Treat materials as part of the design language rather than making decisions about them at a late stage. When composites are considered early on as a creative tool rather than a technical constraint, projects become clearer, more consistent and more characterful, and the design quality is carried through to the final result seamlessly.

How important are The International Yacht & Aviation Awards?:

The International Yacht & Aviation Awards are important because they highlight innovative and outstanding projects, generating focused attention within the market. They bring forward-thinking ideas, materials, and design approaches into the foreground, making them visible and accessible to a wider industry audience.

For us, the awards provide a platform to showcase projects and demonstrate how new concepts can be translated into practical solutions. The awards support the transfer of strong design ideas from individual projects into broader use.

In this way, the awards actively contribute to the evolution of design in both aviation and yachting.

What projects are you currently working on?

We are currently working on a range of projects across the aviation, yachting and premium markets. To protect our customers’ ideas and design processes, these projects remain confidential.

What was one of your company’s key projects to work on and why?

One of our key projects was the interior development for the Pilatus PC-24. The brief was clear: to achieve a significant weight reduction without compromising on design quality. We were selected for our ability to reduce cabinet weight by up to 30% while maintaining a refined and consistent design. Integrating composite décor enabled us to meet all technical requirements and achieve seamless alignment with the aesthetic of the business jet.

What was your company’s most challenging project to work on and why?

Every project is challenging in its own way because each customer, brief and design intention is unique. Working in regulated, high-expectation environments means that each project is completely different, and every solution must balance performance, certification and design with absolute precision. Having to adapt constantly while maintaining quality and clarity is what makes each project special.

Which products/services could you not live without when completing projects? E.g. Lighting companies, furniture companies :

Strong partnerships in the raw material sector are essential to our work. Close collaboration with trusted material suppliers ensures consistent quality, reliable performance and the freedom to realise ambitious composite solutions that meet both design and certification requirements.

What are your company’s aims and goals for the next twelve months?:
Over the next twelve months, our goal is to further establish composites as a key design feature in the aviation, yachting and premium markets. We intend to bring more projects to market that combine lightweight solutions, composite décor and boutique manufacturing to create a coherent design language with certified quality. As part of this, we will increase the visibility of these solutions within the design community to demonstrate how composites can combine freedom of form, reliable quality and clear aesthetic intent. Our focus remains on delivering unique, innovative projects that make a statement.