Evanston, IL – July 1, 2020 – One of the few remaining woolen mills left in the U.S., a Stafford Springs Mill called American Woolen Co. Inc. has been awarded a $2 million military contract with the Pentagon in order to make Army dress uniforms. This comes in part of a larger Pentagon initiative to strengthen industrial supply chains that have suffered in the wake of COVID-19. The mill is set to produce polyester and wool blend fabric for the U.S. Army.
The Department of Defense program, estimated at $187 million, was designed to back the defense workflow in shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, and clothing and textiles and restore jobs lost as a result of the global pandemic.
“This new investment to keep production of U.S. Army uniforms here at home, in eastern Connecticut, will help ensure that the men and women of our armed services have the resources they need no matter what,” said Rep. Joe Courtney, the Connecticut Democrat whose congressional district includes American Woolen.
A member of the House Armed Services Committee, Courtney called American Woolen an “eastern Connecticut success story” that revitalized the historic Stafford Springs mill, which nearly closed in 2014.
After purchasing the former Warren Mill site and restarting its manufacturing operations in 2014, American Woolen began work on customer brands in apparel, interiors, and accessories. Now, it’s starting production of the U.S. Army’s “Army Greens” uniforms that hark back to uniforms worn by soldiers during World War II.
