Puerto Rico Apparel Maker Awarded $41.4 Million Army Uniform Contract
Pentaq Manufacturing Corp. secured a maximum $41.4 million Defense Logistics Agency deal to supply female Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform coats and trousers through 2031, topping a field of 13 offers.
Pentaq Manufacturing Corp., a Puerto Rico apparel maker with roughly $333.8 million in lifetime federal contracts, secured a maximum $41.4 million Army uniform deal, as announced on war.gov.
The five-year, fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contract covers Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform female coats and trousers for the Army, Air Force, and Space Force. The award drew 13 offers in a competitive acquisition, with an ordering period ending Aug. 5, 2031, the Defense Logistics Agency said in a contract notice on August 5, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. The measure ranks as Pentaq’s first recorded award of the year, lifting its 2026 total to $41.4 million.
Pentaq, founded in 2004 and based in the Bo. Rayo Guaras industrial zone of Sabana Grande, employs about 150 workers who sew clothing and equipment for the Defense Department and commercial buyers, according to Google. Company president Oscar Quiles earned the National Minority Small Business Person of the Year honor in 2011 from the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to Google. The firm runs its business almost entirely through the Defense Logistics Agency, with cut-and-sew apparel as its core specialty, according to highergov.com.
The contract concentrates federal money in one of the poorest U.S. jurisdictions. Puerto Rico manufacturers gain steady work, and female service members gain uniforms cut for their fit, a persistent complaint across the ranks. Rival bidders lose a multiyear revenue stream in a shrinking clothing-and-textiles procurement field. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support office in Philadelphia manages the buy, the 23rd Department of Defense contract recorded in Pennsylvania during 2026.
Pentaq’s federal work has climbed for two decades. The firm booked $2.4 million in contracts in 2006, peaked near $44.9 million in 2018, and has collected more than $333.8 million in awards over its history, according to highergov.com. Against the agency’s 2026 portfolio the deal is modest, landing between the year’s $9 million floor and its $1.53 billion ceiling for Defense Logistics Agency contracts.
For the average American, the deal shows how basic soldier equipment reaches the field. Combat uniforms designed for female troops address fit and readiness gaps that surfaced as women moved into more combat roles. The taxpayer funds behind the purchase flow through the working-capital accounts that keep military supply chains stocked.
This has happened before. Pentaq has held multiple Defense Logistics Agency clothing awards, including a $9 million deal for physical-training trunks and a $12.6 million contract for knee and elbow pads earlier in 2026, according to highergov.com. The company’s HubZone certification and set-aside history have kept it a regular winner in the special-purpose clothing category, according to highergov.com.
The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support office will decide when and how much to order under the contract. No date for the first delivery order has been announced.
Military tailoring in Puerto Rico traces a long industrial thread, as it has for generations. The island’s needle trades employed tens of thousands during the mid-20th century garment boom, when firms stitched uniforms for mainland and defense buyers before cheaper overseas competition thinned the sector. Quiles built the company after managing plants such as Caribbean Needle Point, which once ran 420 workers making Defense Department clothing, according to pentaq.shop. That lineage let a small Sabana Grande shop outlast far larger predecessors and land a national uniform contract its own former employers never secured.
This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to Pentaq Manufacturing Corp., Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $41,363,742. It is also the 23rd Department of Defense contract awarded in Pennsylvania during 2026. Because this is the first award to Pentaq Manufacturing Corp., Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico recorded in the database, it establishes the company’s initial benchmark within the Defense Logistics Agency portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Defense Logistics Agency portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $9,000,000 and maximum of $1,525,000,000. Overall, this award was announced among 7 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on August 5, 2026.
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