Federal and Defense Textile Summit

Is the Federal Government Right for My Company? A Beginner’s Guide to Federal and Defense Opportunities.  An introduction to the federal marketplace for manufacturers with little or no government-contracting experience. The session will explain the basic requirements for doing business with the federal government, how companies identify relevant opportunities and what it takes to move from commercial manufacturing into federal and defense markets. Topics include the main federal buyers of textiles and apparel, how to find opportunities and past purchases, and a short overview of small-business set-asides and simplified purchasing.

The 20-Minute Bid/No-Bid Decision: Reading a Solicitation Like a Contracting Officer. A practical exercise showing manufacturers how to quickly evaluate a federal solicitation before investing time and resources in a proposal. Participants will learn to identify the actual requirement, mandatory specifications, contract terms, evaluation factors, delivery requirements, certifications, and other factors that determine whether an opportunity is worth pursuing. The exercise uses an actual DLA Clothing and Textiles solicitation, so participants see a purchase description, first article testing, the Berry Amendment clause and packaging requirements in a real document.

Where NC Fits: Matching Woven, Knit and Nonwoven Products to Federal Demand. North Carolina mills supply most of the fabric the federal government buys directly, but little of the clothing and equipment made from it. This session maps what NC woven, knit, nonwoven and yarn producers make against what federal agencies buy, and shows where small changes to an existing product, such as flame-resistant treatments, PFAS-free repellency or a Berry-compliant yarn, can open a federal market.

DLA DIBBS Hands-On: How Textile Buys Are Posted, Awarded and Qualified. A live walk-through of the DLA Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS), where most federal textile and clothing purchases are posted. Participants will learn to search by product code, read a textile purchase description, understand first article and product demonstration model requirements, and use past awards and prices to see what DLA pays.

Becoming Ready for Federal Contracting: Cybersecurity and Compliance. An introduction to cybersecurity, information-protection and compliance requirements that can affect manufacturers entering the defense supply chain. The session will focus on understanding requirements early, identifying gaps and preparing the company before pursuing defense contracts or teaming opportunities. It will also cover which requirements flow down to material and component suppliers working under a prime contractor.

Supplying the Supply Chain: Selling Berry-Compliant Materials to Primes.  Most mills will not hold a federal contract, but their fabric, yarn, thread, and nonwovens end up in one. This session explains who buys materials for federal end items, how prime contractors, AbilityOne agencies and UNICOR qualify suppliers, and what Berry Amendment documentation a mill must provide from fiber forward.

The Defense Textile Industrial Base: What Government Needs from Industry Now. A senior-level look at what the U.S. government needs from America's defense textile industrial base—and where industry can respond. The discussion will focus on strengthening domestic manufacturing capacity, securing resilient supply chains, modernizing production, and ensuring the United States can produce, qualify, and rapidly scale critical textile materials and products when national defense demands it.

The Future Battlefield: Textile Challenges Looking for Solutions. An Army perspective on emerging battlefield requirements creating new challenges and opportunities for textile manufacturers, including advanced protective materials, Soldier protection, CBRN protection, camouflage and concealment, signature management, and ballistic and blast protection.

The Future Battlefield: Advanced Textile Materials and Smart Textiles. A look at emerging textile technologies supporting future warfighter requirements, including advanced materials, smart textiles, functional fabrics, lightweight protective systems, and sensing technologies. The panel will connect research and technology development with the needs of the domestic defense textile manufacturing base.

Aerial Delivery and Space Flight Textiles. From NASA’s Artemis moonwalk suits and inflatable space habitats to parachutes that safely land crewed capsules, softgoods are essential to both space exploration and national defense. Industry leaders will discuss what aerospace and defense programs need from U.S. suppliers of high-performance yarn and thread, low-porosity fabrics, webbing, coated textiles, load-bearing assemblies, and precision sewing. Through a panel discussion, moderated conversation, and product samples, participants will explore supplier qualification, advanced manufacturing requirements, and opportunities to adapt technologies across space, defense, and commercial markets. The focus is on translating shared manufacturing capabilities into stronger domestic supply chains, new supplier partnerships, and products that meet demanding performance and reliability requirements.

The Battlefield Challenge: Industry Innovation. What are the toughest textile and equipment challenges facing today’s Soldier—and can industry help solve them? DEVCOM Soldier Center will bring battlefield requirements directly to industry, highlighting opportunities in advanced materials, Soldier protection, CBRN, camouflage and concealment, tentage, signature management and protective equipment.

The session will also examine how commercially developed technologies can move from research and prototyping through testing, validation, qualification and first-article requirements to commercialization and full-scale defense production.

DLA Executive Brief: Opportunities, Challenges, and Industry Engagement. A senior-level briefing from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Clothing & Textiles (C&T) Small Business Center on current and emerging procurement opportunities, forecasts, and challenges facing the U.S. defense textile industrial base. DLA representatives will explain how manufacturers can engage more effectively, compete for contracts, meet qualification and performance requirements, and help strengthen domestic production capacity, supply-chain resilience, and surge readiness.

Topics to Cover:

• Procurement and Forecasts: Procurement methods, forecasts, solicitations, purchase descriptions, and relevant contracting opportunities.
• Finding and Evaluating Opportunities: DIBBS and other procurement channels, past awards, pricing, and assessing bid/no-bid decisions.
• Supplier Qualification and Performance: First-article testing, product demonstrations, quality standards, delivery requirements, and common challenges in winning and performing DLA contracts.
• Domestic Sourcing and Compliance: Berry Amendment considerations and applicable domestic sourcing requirements.
• Industrial-Base Resilience and Readiness: Domestic production capacity, long lead times, vulnerable supply chains, qualified second sources, and the ability to scale output when demand increases.

Berry Amendment and Beyond: Protecting America’s Textile Industrial Base:  An examination of the Berry Amendment and related domestic sourcing considerations and why a strong domestic textile manufacturing base is essential to military readiness and supply-chain security.

Automating for Readiness: How U.S. Manufacturing Can Scale Speaker: A manufacturer's perspective on automation, advanced sewing and production technologies that can improve productivity, quality, workforce efficiency, and domestic manufacturing capacity.

FutureTEX: Building the Next Generation of America’s Defense Textile Industrial Base. FutureTEX is focused on strengthening and modernizing America's defense textile industrial base by connecting research, advanced materials, and manufacturing innovation with companies capable of producing at scale. This session will explore how to move promising technologies from prototype to qualified production while addressing domestic manufacturing capacity, automation, workforce readiness, supply-chain resilience, and the ability to increase output when national defense demands surge. Discussion will also examine how testing, qualification, first-article requirements, and production validation help turn innovation into dependable, mission-ready products.

Nonwoven Opportunities for Defense Textiles. Explore how nonwoven technologies can meet emerging defense requirements in protection, filtration, CBRN applications, advanced composites, insulation, and other high-performance textile applications. The session will highlight opportunities to move nonwoven technologies from materials development to scalable, qualified defense production.

Become a Good Teaming Partner, Component Supplier or Subcontractor. What prime contractors look for when selecting small and mid-sized manufacturers. The discussion will address capability, quality, delivery, capacity, certifications, compliance, responsiveness, and the ability to reliably perform within a larger defense supply chain.

U.S. Army Program and Opportunities. An overview of Army programs, requirements, and opportunities relevant to textile manufacturers and suppliers. The discussion will address current and emerging needs, relevant products and components, and how companies can engage with Army organizations, program offices, and acquisition partners. The session will emphasize opportunities for industry to provide existing products, develop improved components, and respond to evolving operational requirements.

U.S. Homeland Security and Coast Guard Program and Opportunities. Explore current and emerging textile, apparel, protective equipment, shelter, and related manufacturing needs across the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Coast Guard. Representatives will outline mission-driven requirements, relevant products and components, acquisition pathways, and opportunities for U.S. manufacturers and suppliers to deliver reliable, mission-ready solutions. The discussion will help industry identify where its capabilities align with operational needs and how to pursue potential government procurement opportunities.

U.S. Air Force Program and Opportunities. An overview of Air Force textile, apparel, protective equipment and related manufacturing requirements and opportunities. The session will address current and emerging needs, relevant products and components, and ways manufacturers can engage with Air Force organizations and acquisition partners.

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Program and Opportunities. An overview of Navy and Marine Corps textiles, clothing, protective equipment and related manufacturing requirements and opportunities. The session will address current and emerging mission needs, relevant products and components, and ways manufacturers can engage with service organizations and acquisition partners. Potential areas of discussion include shipboard and expeditionary applications, protective equipment, technical fabrics, load-bearing systems, and other textile-related requirements, as appropriate to participating organizations.