The offices of Senator Richard Burr and Senator Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Military Business Center at Fayetteville Technical Community College, and the North Carolina Defense Technology Transition Office will host the Southeast Region Federal and Defense Textile Summit in Charlotte on May 24-25. 

The event is funded in part by the United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration and the Manufacturing Solutions Center at Catawba Valley Community College. 

All manufacturers, designers and suppliers of textile-based clothing, footwear, equipment and textile-based soldier systems and their supply chain, workforce and supporting resources should attend. 

“FEDTEX is designed to engage government, military , industry and academia in productive dialogue about future requirements, current acquisitions, advanced technologies, innovation drivers, domestic production preferences and contemporary workforce, supply chain, market engagement and related industry challenges,” said Scott Dorney, executive director ofNCMBC. “FEDTEX offers a unique opportunity for industry and academia to engage in one-on-one dialogue with officials from across DoD around these challenges and opportunities.”

The summit will include several sessions on textile innovation, new product development and testing and evaluation dialogue, industry-government conversation, textile workforce and talent pipeline resources, dress clothing acquisitions and dialogue with industry, and more. 

Two key speakers will be in attendance to speak – Senator Thom Tillis and Deputy Director David Johns. There will also be several other speakers including: 

• AFFOA
• Ascend Materials
• Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST)
• Central Piedmont Community College
• Coats American, Inc.
• Defense Logistics Agency - Clothing & Textiles
• Defense Logistics Agency - Troop Support
• Mills Manufacturing
• MMI Textiles
• National Council of Textiles Organizations
• Navy Clothing & Textile Research Facility (NCTRF)
• Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM)
• North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC)
• North Carolina Department of Commerce, NCWorks
• North Carolina Defense Technology Transition Office (DEFTECH)
• North Carolina State University, Wilson College of Textiles
• NCWorks
• Southern Textile Association (STA)
• Supreme Industries
• Survival Innovations
• Textile Technology Center, Gaston College
• U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Soldier Center (CCDC SC)
• US Marine Corps Systems Command

For more information or to register for the FEDTEX Summit, visit here.