As you know, US military uniforms must be Berry Compliant. This means that they have to be manufactured here in the US with US materials. It has long been difficult to maintain Berry compliance for materials to produce dress uniforms due to the relatively low numbers required. troops just don’t wear as many dress uniforms as they do field uniforms. So, it’s great to see companies like Burlington sticking with it to ensure that our men and women are clothed in quality, American apparel.
Burlington Industries LLC, a division of International Textile Group (ITG), announced today it has been awarded two contracts totaling a maximum of $160M by the Defense Logistics Agency to supply wool blend fabrics for use in the newly updated Army dress uniforms. These fabrics will be produced at the company’s facilities in Raeford and Cordova, North Carolina.
Burlington has been an integral part of the defense supply chain for more than 50 years, serving as a domestic resource for new fabric development and known for delivering quality products with consistent shade characteristics. “The award of these contracts demonstrates the strategic value that Burlington provides to the U.S. Military as the dominant supplier of worsted wool dress uniform fabrics for all branches of the military,” said Jeff Peck, President Burlington.
These awards follow four contracts previously awarded to Burlington this past April. These contracts, awarded over a five-year period, include a contract for khaki polyester/wool tropical shirt fabric for theU.S. Marine Corps with a maximum value of $21 million; a contract for green gabardine sponged fabric for jackets and pants for the U.S. Marine Corps with a maximum value of $28.5 million; a contract for khaki polyester/wool tropical shirt fabric for the U.S. Navy with a maximum value of $18 million; and a contract for gabardine sponged blue fabric for the U.S. Navy with a maximum value of $3.5 million.
Burlington’s Raeford operation is known for its superior consistency and repeatability of yarn color used to produce dress uniform fabrics. The wool top is dyed and spun into yarn and is shipped to the company’s Richmond plant in Cordova, NC where it is woven into fabric. The worsted wool and wool blend fabrics are returned to Raeford where they are finished and shipped to specified cutters to make the final uniform. The fabrics are engineered to provide the soldier with advanced durability and wrinkle-resistance. Skilled workers, many with more than 20 years experience, carefully tend to the yarn and fabric at each process. “It’s a matter of our employees’ taking pride in our products and the dedication they bring to building the fabrics for those who serve our country,” said Peck.
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