Smart Textiles for the Military Market

Company Headquarters: Newark, Delaware, US Workforce: ~10,000 Founded: 1958 Company Working: WL Gore & Associates manufactures polymer polytetrafluoroethylene products. The company offers consumer products, such as waterproof, windproof, and breathable garments; footwear accessories, electronic and electrochemical materials such as EMI shielding and grounding solutions, fabrics, and safety service fabrics. The company offers Gore-Tex fabric products to various industries ranging from medical to military. WL Gore & Associates has long partnered with the military to provide cables and materials for use in land vehicles, aircraft, and other military applications. In 1958, the company launched its first product, was an insulated wire and cable used primarily in defense applications.

Company Headquarters: Colorado, US Founded: 1990 Workforce: ~100 Company Working: Outlast Technologies LLC manufactures thermally adaptive and phase change materials. The company offers thermocules, which are microencapsulated phase change materials that absorb, store, and release heat for optimal thermal comfort. The company offers products which are used in outdoor sports, bedding, apparel, footwear, seating, and other applications, as well as home furnishings, packaging, military, medical, and other markets. It sells its products through a network of sales representatives in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Furthermore, the company has its presence in Heidenheim, Germany, and Hong Kong. Outlast Technologies LLC have patented a number of techniques for smart fabrics for military application. The company engages in the development of connectors used within the garment to prevent them from rusting and short-circuiting.

Company Headquarters: Viby J, Denmark Founded: 2004 Company Working: Ohmatex is involved in the R&D of smart technology products for sports, military, medical, and fashion applications. The company works in collaboration with the leading technology companies in Europe for the development of smart textiles. Its products have a wide range of applications such as built-in sensors for fire suits, fisherman's' clothing, ski garments, in sports and medical devices for therapy purposes, to register body movement in 3D for film animation and training, in stockings that measure edema, as smart cables for textiles, and in heating and safety illumination garments. The company offers a wide range of consultancy services designed to meet various budgets, project types, and stages of development. Smart textile technologies are used in military protective clothing, physiological monitoring for medical and sports applications. The company is investing in various f development projects related to the integration of electronics and communications equipment in military uniforms.

Headquarters: Medford, US Workforce: NA Founded: 1989 Company Working: Mide Technology Corporation (Mide) develops, produces, and markets high-performance products used in the military, automotive, and manufacturing industries. The company also provides engineering consulting, custom and contract R&D services. It has strong R&D capabilities to develop highly advanced material for various industrial applications; it also enables the company to generate models rapidly and effectively, perform analysis, fabricate prototypes, and offer testing of prototypes. Mide has high experience in designing and fabricating prototypes, modeling and simulation, and manufacturing products. It offers a wide range of smart textiles and piezo products. It also has a customized product range, specifically for the military domain.

Headquarters: Almelo, the Netherlands Workforce: ~4000 Founded: 1957 Company Working: Koninklijke Ten Cate BV (TenCate) is a leading manufacturer of artificial grass, fiber, tent, and sunshade shelter applications. It has more than 50 subsidiaries in North America, Asia, Europe. As a business group of TenCate, the subsidiary TenCate Protective Fabrics-US has a significant contribution to the textile technological. TenCate Protective Fabrics holds numerous patents and is highly experienced in fabric manufacturing with a variety of products. The manufacturing processes comprise weaving, yarn formation, non-woven fabric formation, dyeing, and finishing. Through advanced technology and innovative and proprietary techniques, TenCate can ensure consistent quality and through a large and extensive network of supply chain partnerships. It develops, manufactures, and sells functional materials, modules, and systems, which are used for personal safety and protection of the living and working environments. It operates through the following three business divisions: · Geosynthesis and grass: This division produces and sells fabrics and grids for civil engineering and environmental projects, and industrial fabrics for agribusiness, sports, and recreational applications. · Advanced textiles and composites: This division produces and sells protective and safety fabrics for outdoor and professional wares. Through this division, the company also offers composites for personal and vehicle protection, industrial protection, and technological applications in the aerospace industry. · Other activities: This division manufactures and sells components such as foam rollers, rubber, and related products, including fax machines, copiers, printers, ATMs, and postal sorting machines to the office equipment industry.

Headquarters: Wilmington, Delaware, US Workforce: ~45,000 Founded: 1802 Company Working: DuPont operates as a science and technology-based company. The company has various subsidiaries and affiliates, which conduct manufacture, produce, or distribute products under the company’s name. The company operates through six major segments, namely agriculture, electronics & communications, industrial biosciences, nutrition & health, performance materials, and protection solutions. Performance materials product portfolio includes elastomers and thermoplastic and thermoset engineering polymers which are used by customers to fabricate components for mechanical, chemical, and electrical systems. Performance materials are also used in resins and films used in packaging and industrial polymer applications, sealants and adhesives and sporting goods. With over 45,000 employees, the company markets its products through the company’s sales force and distributors in the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.