Malden Lands $15m Military Bid
Textile mill Malden Mills Industries Inc. landed a $15 million bid from the U.S.
Congress for military garments made from its branded performance fabric, Polartec.
The funds are part of the 2006 Defense Spending Bill and include $1.1 million earmarked for the Army’s Combat Casualty Care program. The funding will cover a third year of research and development of electronic textiles, which allows the army to remotely monitor soldiers’ physiological condition while in combat.
The bill will also fund three additional programs using Polartec: the Army Extended Cold Weather Clothing System, the Marine Corps Mountain Cold Weather Clothing and Equipment Program and the Navy Air Warfare Center’s Multi-Climate Protection System.
The Extended Cold Weather program uses several Polartec thermal fabrics to ensure soldiers’ protection in cooler temperatures without adding bulk or weight.
Layers of Polartec are used in the Marines’ Mountain Cold Weather program to provide weather protection through the nextto- skin layer, light- and heavy-weight insulating layers, a protective shell, and a wind- and water-resistant outer insulating layer.
Polartec is also layered in the Navy’s Multi- Climate Protection System, including a thermal layer with moisture-management properties and an outer shell that provides flame protection. The Navy’s program also incorporates technologies from DuPont and Peckham Vocational Industries. The program’s garments are less bulky than the Navy’s previous protective apparel and provide improved water and wind resistance.
In addition to the Army, Navy and Marines, Polartec fabrics are also used in the Air Force, and Special Operations Forces, according to the company, which is based in Lawrence, Mass. and Hudson, N.H.
—Alison A. Nieder
