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                                                                Exhibit 10.37(a)

                            EMPLOYEE OPTION AGREEMENT

EMPLOYEE OPTION AGREEMENT, dated as of the Grant Date, by and between the
Optionee and Hexcel Corporation (the "Corporation").

                              W I T N E S S E T H:
                              - - - - - - - - - -

WHEREAS, the Corporation has adopted the Hexcel Corporation Incentive Stock Plan
(the "Plan"); and

WHEREAS, the Corporation and the Optionee have entered into an employment
agreement dated as of July 30, 2001 (the "Employment Agreement"); and

WHEREAS, the Compensation Committee (the "Committee") of the Board of Directors
of the Corporation (the "Board") has determined that it is desirable and in the
best interest of the Corporation to grant to the Optionee a stock option as an
incentive for the Optionee to advance the interests of the Corporation.

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:

1. NOTICE OF GRANT; INCORPORATION OF PLAN. A Notice of Grant is attached hereto
as Annex A and incorporated by reference herein. Unless otherwise provided
herein, capitalized terms used herein and defined in such Notice of Grant shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in the Notice of Grant and capitalized terms
used herein (and in the Notice of Grant) and defined in the Plan shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in the Plan. Sections II, IV, and IX (other than
Section IX(b)) - XIV of the Plan are incorporated by reference and made a part
of this Employee Option Agreement, and this Employee Option Agreement shall be
subject to the terms of such Sections of the Plan, as such Sections of the Plan
may be amended from time to time (provided that any such amendment of the Plan
must be made in accordance with Section X of the Plan) as if the Option granted
herein constituted an Award within the meaning of the Plan. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, this Option is not granted under the Plan.

2. GRANT OF OPTION. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and
therein, the Corporation hereby grants to the Optionee the right and option (the
"Option") to purchase all or any part of the Option Shares of the Corporation's
Common Stock, which Option is not intended to qualify as an incentive stock
option, as defined in Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended (the "Code").

3. PURCHASE PRICE. The purchase price per share of the Option Shares shall be
the Purchase Price.


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4.       TERM OF OPTION.

         (a)      EXPIRATION DATE; TERM. Subject to Section 4(c) below, the
                  Option shall expire on, and shall no longer be exercisable
                  following, the tenth anniversary of the Grant Date. The
                  ten-year period from the Grant Date to its tenth anniversary
                  shall constitute the "Term" of the Option.

         (b)      VESTING PERIOD; EXERCISABILITY. Subject to Section 4(c) below,
                  the Option shall vest and become exercisable at the rate of
                  one sixteenth (1/16) of the Option Shares at the end of each
                  of the first sixteen (16) three-calendar-month periods
                  following the Grant Date.

         (c)      TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT; CHANGE IN CONTROL.

                  (i)      For purposes of the grant hereunder, any transfer of
                           employment by the Optionee among the Corporation and
                           its Subsidiaries shall not be considered a
                           termination of employment. If the Optionee's
                           employment with the Corporation is terminated for
                           Cause (as defined in the Employment Agreement), the
                           Option, whether or not then vested, shall be
                           automatically terminated as of the date of such
                           termination of employment. If the Optionee terminates
                           his employment with the Corporation other than for
                           Good Reason (as defined in the Employment Agreement),
                           the Option (to the extent then vested) may be
                           exercised at any time within (A) ninety (90) days
                           after such termination if such termination occurs
                           prior to the fifth anniversary of the Grant Date or
                           (B) three (3) years after such termination if such
                           termination occurs on or after the fifth anniversary
                           of the Grant Date (but, in either case, not beyond
                           the Term of the Option). The Option, to the extent
                           not then vested, shall immediately expire upon such
                           termination of employment. Except as provided in
                           Section 4(c)(ii) below, if the Optionee's employment
                           with the Corporation is terminated for any reason
                           other than (A) by the Company for Cause or (B) by the
                           Optionee other than for Good Reason, the Option (to
                           the extent then vested) may be exercised at any time
                           within one (1) year after such termination (but not
                           beyond the Term of the Option). The Option, to the
                           extent not then vested, shall immediately expire upon
                           such termination of employment.

                  (ii)     In the event of a Change in Control (as defined in
                           the Employment Agreement), the Option shall
                           immediately become fully vested and exercisable and
                           remain exercisable for its originally scheduled term,
                           provided that if the Optionee's employment is
                           terminated, the post-termination periods of
                           exercisability set forth in Section 4(c)(i) hereof
                           shall apply, except that the post-termination period
                           of exercisability shall be extended and the Option
                           shall remain exercisable for a period of three (3)
                           years from the date of such termination of
                           employment, if, within two (2) years after a Change
                           in Control, (A) the Optionee's employment is


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                           terminated by the Company other than by reason of
                           Cause, Disability (as defined in the Employment
                           Agreement) or death or (B) the Optionee terminates
                           the Optionee's employment for Good Reason.

5.       ADJUSTMENT UPON CHANGES IN CAPITALIZATION.

         (a)      The aggregate number of Option Shares and the Purchase Price
                  shall be appropriately adjusted by the Committee for any
                  increase or decrease in the number of issued shares of Common
                  Stock resulting from a subdivision or consolidation of shares
                  or other capital adjustment, or the payment of a stock
                  dividend or other increase or decrease in such shares,
                  effected without receipt of consideration by the Corporation,
                  or other change in corporate or capital structure. The
                  Committee shall also make the foregoing changes and any other
                  changes, including changes in the classes of securities
                  available, to the extent reasonably necessary or desirable to
                  preserve the intended benefits under this Employee Option
                  Agreement in the event of any other reorganization,
                  recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off,
                  extraordinary dividend or other distribution or similar
                  transaction involving the Corporation.

         (b)      Any adjustment under this Section 5 in the number of Option
                  Shares and the Purchase Price shall apply to only the
                  unexercised portion of the Option. If fractions of a share
                  would result from any such adjustment, the adjustment shall be
                  rounded down to the nearest whole number of shares.

6.       METHOD OF EXERCISING OPTION AND WITHHOLDING.

         (a)      The Option shall be exercised by the delivery by the Optionee
                  to the Corporation at its principal office (or at such other
                  address as may be established by the Committee) of written
                  notice of the number of Option Shares with respect to which
                  the Option is exercised, accompanied by payment in full of the
                  aggregate Purchase Price for such Option Shares. Payment for
                  such Option Shares shall be made (i) in U.S. dollars by
                  personal check, bank draft or money order payable to the order
                  of the Corporation, or by money transfers or direct account
                  debits to an account designated by the Corporation; (ii)
                  through the delivery of shares of Common Stock with a Fair
                  Market Value equal to the total payment due from the Optionee;
                  (iii) pursuant to a "cashless exercise" program if such a
                  program is established by the Corporation; or (iv) by any
                  combination of the methods described in (i) through (iii)
                  above.

         (b)      The Corporation's obligation to deliver shares of Common Stock
                  upon the exercise of the Option shall be subject to the
                  payment by the Optionee of applicable federal, state and local
                  withholding tax, if any. The Corporation shall, to the extent
                  permitted by law, have


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                  the right to deduct from any payment of any kind otherwise due
                  to the Optionee any federal, state or local taxes required to
                  be withheld with respect to such payment.

7.       TRANSFER. Except as provided in this Section 7, the Option is not
transferable otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and
the Option may be exercised during the Optionee's lifetime only by the Optionee.
Any attempt to transfer the Option in contravention of this Section 7 shall be
void AB INITIO. The Option shall not be subject to execution, attachment or
other process. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Optionee shall be permitted to
transfer the Option to members of his or her immediate family (I.E., children,
grandchildren or spouse), trusts for the benefit of such family members, and
partnerships whose only partners are such family members; provided, however,
that no consideration can be paid for the transfer of the Option and the
transferee of the Option shall be subject to all conditions applicable to the
Option prior to its transfer.

8.       NO RIGHTS IN OPTION SHARES. The Optionee shall have none of the rights
of a stockholder with respect to the Option Shares unless and until shares of
Common Stock are issued upon exercise of the Option.

9.       NO RIGHT TO EMPLOYMENT. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to
confer upon the Optionee any right of continued employment for any period by the
Corporation.

10.      GOVERNING LAW/JURISDICTION. This Employee Option Agreement shall be
governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware
without reference to principles of conflict of laws.

11.      RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES. Any disputes arising under or in connection
with this Employee Option Agreement shall be resolved by binding arbitration in
accordance with the provisions of Section 17 of the Employment Agreement,
including the provisions for advancement of legal fees of the Optionee.

12.      NOTICES. Any notice required or permitted under this Employee Option
Agreement shall be given as provided in Section 13 of the Employment Agreement.

13.      FAILURE TO ENFORCE NOT A WAIVER. The failure of either party hereto to
enforce at any time any provision of this Employee Option Agreement shall in no
way be construed to be a waiver of such provision or of any other provision
hereof.

14.      COUNTERPARTS. This Employee Option Agreement may be executed in two or
more counterparts, each of which shall be an original but all of which together
shall represent one and the same agreement.

15.      MISCELLANEOUS. This Employee Option Agreement may be amended, modified
or changed only by a written instrument executed by the Optionee and the
Corporation. No provision of this Employee Option Agreement may be waived except
by a writing executed and delivered by the party sought to be charged. Any such
written waiver will be effective only with respect to the event or circumstance
described therein


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and not with respect to any other event or circumstance, unless such waiver
expressly provides to the contrary. This Employee Option Agreement, including
the provisions of the Plan incorporated herein by reference, and the Employment
Agreement contain the entire agreement between the parties relating to the
subject matter hereof. The section headings herein are intended for reference
only and shall not affect the interpretation hereof.

16.      ADDITIONAL COVENANTS.

         (a)      The Corporation shall at all times reserve, out of its
                  authorized and unissued shares, a number of shares sufficient
                  to provide for the exercise in full of the Option. All shares
                  issued upon exercise of the Option shall be duly authorized
                  and, when issued upon such exercise, shall be (i) validly
                  issued, fully paid and non-assessable, (ii) registered for
                  purchase by the Optionee from the Corporation under Federal
                  and state securities laws and shall remain registered until
                  the Option has been exercised in full or been terminated and
                  (iii) listed, or otherwise qualified, for trading in the
                  United States on each national securities exchange or national
                  securities market system on which the Common Stock is listed
                  or qualified.

         (b)      The Corporation represents and warrants that (i) it is fully
                  authorized by its Board or the Committee (and by any person or
                  body whose action is required) to enter into this Employee
                  Option Agreement and to perform its obligations under it, (ii)
                  the execution, delivery and performance of this Employee
                  Option Agreement by the Corporation does not violate any
                  applicable law, regulation, order, judgment or decree or any
                  agreement, plan or corporate governance document of the
                  Corporation or any agreement among holders of its shares and
                  (iii) upon execution and delivery of this Employee Option
                  Agreement by the Corporation and the Optionee, this Employee
                  Option Agreement shall be the valid and binding obligation of
                  the Corporation, enforceable in accordance with its terms,
                  except to the extent enforceability may be limited by
                  applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or similar laws affecting
                  the enforcement of creditors' rights generally or by the
                  inapplicability of equitable remedies in certain
                  circumstances.

         (c)      This Stock Option Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and
                  be binding upon the Corporation and its successors. It shall
                  not be assignable except in connection with the sale or other
                  disposition of all or substantially all of the assets or
                  business of the Corporation, whether by merger, consolidation
                  or otherwise.


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                                     ANNEX A

                                 NOTICE OF GRANT
                              EMPLOYEE STOCK OPTION

         The following employee of Hexcel Corporation, a Delaware corporation
("Hexcel"), or a Subsidiary, has been granted an option to purchase shares of
the Common Stock of Hexcel, $.01 par value, in accordance with the terms of this
Notice of Grant and the Employee Option Agreement to which this Notice of Grant
is attached.

         The following is a summary of the principal terms of the option which
has been granted. The terms below shall have the meanings ascribed to them below
when used in the Employee Option Agreement.

<Table>
<S>                                                            <C>
Optionee                                                       David E. Berges
-------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------
Address of Optionee                                            c/o Hexcel Corporation
-------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------
Employee Number

-------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------
Employee ID Number

-------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------
Foreign Sub Plan, if applicable

-------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------
Grant Date                                                     July 30, 2001
-------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------
Purchase Price                                                 the greater of (1) $10.50 and (2) the Fair
                                                               Market Value of a share of Common
                                                               Stock on the Grant Date
-------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------
Aggregate Number of Shares                                     550,000
Granted (the "Option Shares")
-------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------
</Table>


         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereby agree to the terms of this
Notice of Grant and the Employee Option Agreement to which this Notice of Grant
is attached and execute this Notice of Grant and Employee Option Agreement as of
the Grant Date.

 /s/ David E. Berges                      HEXCEL CORPORATION
--------------------------------
David E. Berges

                                          By: /s/ Ira J. Krakower
                                             -----------------------------------
                                             Ira J. Krakower
                                             Sr. Vice President




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