Brickle Group lands big government contracts

WOONSOCKET – The Brickle Group announced more than $84 million in Defense Logistics Agency contracts have been awarded to its subsidiary Northwest Woolen Mill over the past eight months.

The announcement was made during at a ceremony Tuesday attended by state leaders.

The contracts extend over five years and will take place in Woonsocket and at Brickle’s New England textile partners.

The company had been a participant in the Real Jobs Rhode Island program, working with the New England Institute of Technology to make its workforce more competitive for government contracts, the R.I. Department of Labor and Training said.

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“Manufacturing is in Rhode Island’s DNA,” said Gov. Gina M. Raimondo in a statement. “That’s why we’re investing in platforms [such as] Real Jobs Rhode Island that support our workers and homegrown companies [such as] The Brickle Group. I want to congratulate The Brickle Group and their partners on successfully winning these federal contracts. I’m thrilled that they are thriving and growing here in Woonsocket.”

The company has been producing the U.S. Military blanket for more than 40 years, the company said. It also noted this was the first year it had been awarded a contract to produce Gen III Layer VII Parka and Trousers, as well as the Snow Camo Trouser and Parka adopted by the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.

The company also credited the Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network and Polaris MEP for their aid in securing contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense.

“With this significant contract, The Brickle Group continues Rhode Island’s tradition of making world-class products for the men and women of the U.S. armed forces,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., in a statement. “It’s gratifying to see our long efforts to convene the local textile industry and to support local manufacturing jobs bear fruit.”