San Gabriel Valley : $12.5-Million Defense Job Won by Cal Poly
When the military needs uniforms, they often need them fast and in large quantities.
To guarantee readiness on the clothing front, the Defense Department has awarded a $12.5-million contract to Cal Poly Pomona to operate a demonstration factory for turning out soldiers’ garments over the next seven years. The contract is the largest ever to be awarded to the university.
Once it begins operation next year in a remodeled building on campus, the factory, funded by the Defense Logistics Agency, will research mass-production methods and demonstrate to students and the local garment industry how to produce clothing “better, cheaper, faster,” said Prof. Jean Gipe. “That’s the [logistic agency’s] favorite phrase.”
With donations of equipment coming in from manufacturers, the college will use the funds to pay salaries of eight additional staff members--including sewing machine operators and an engineer--to operate the factory.
One of two schools in the nation to receive the contract--the other was Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.--Cal Poly Pomona will produce khaki shirts for the Marine Recruit Induction Center in San Diego and will also make men’s dress shirts for civilian use.
The factory will also provide first-hand experience for the students in the school’s four-year apparel merchandising and management degree program.
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