Swedish knitwear manufacturer Woolpower has signed a contract with the German armed forces worth as much as SEK 250 million, adding a second major European defence customer demand stream to a order book in which public-sector buyers already account for roughly one-third of business.

The deal signals a broader shift in the European defence procurement tier: armed forces, police and emergency services are placing larger orders for extreme-cold base layers and durable garments, and they are placing them with suppliers that can prove where production happens. Woolpower supplies defence customers in several countries already, and CEO Linus Flodin says the pipeline keeps widening.

"We are seeing a clear increase in demand from this type of customer. More and more armed forces are recognising the value of clothing designed to withstand extreme conditions while also providing long-lasting durability," Flodin said.

Vertical integration as a procurement credential

What separates Woolpower from most garment suppliers competing for these tenders is its factory footprint. The company operates its own textile plant in Östersund and controls a significant part of the process from yarn to finished garment. Several years ago it completed the largest investment in its history: a new factory that doubled floor space at the site and created headroom to raise output.

That structure now functions as a security-of-supply credential. Defence buyers across NATO member states are increasingly screening suppliers for supply-chain resilience — the ability to keep delivering if shipping lanes, offshore suppliers or geopolitical conditions deteriorate. Woolpower manufactures in Sweden, an EU and NATO member, and its CEO frames that as a deliberate strategic choice rather than a cost decision.

"We decided to keep both production and know-how in our own facilities. This has always been very important to us from a quality perspective, but today it has taken on an additional dimension. For customers in the defence sector, it is also about knowing where production takes place and having confidence that deliveries can continue even if the global situation deteriorates," Flodin said.

"Being able to say that we have production here in Sweden and that we ourselves control a significant part of the value chain is one of our strengths. It is no longer just about where the clothing is produced, but about having the capacity to continue deliveries when conditions become more difficult," he added.

Capacity investment follows the contract

The German order, combined with rising demand from defence and other professional customers, will drive further capacity investment at Östersund. Flodin did not specify a figure, but said the company needs to "grow with demand and continue developing our production."

"This is positive for us, but it is also proof that it is possible to build competitive textile manufacturing in Sweden," he said.

The company also reports a knock-on effect in civilian channels: military-grade performance standards serve as a quality signal for professional workwear buyers and, secondarily, consumers.

"If products meet the demanding criteria set by the military personnel operating in the field, that also says something about their quality for other users. Whether you work outdoors or wear these garments in your free time, the basic requirement is the same: they must perform in difficult conditions and they must be durable," Flodin said.

For sourcing teams across Europe, the Woolpower deal marks a concrete data point in the reshoring debate: onshore, vertically integrated capacity in an EU-NATO jurisdiction is now winning tenders that offshore, multi-country supplier networks struggle to secure. Suppliers bidding into the defence and emergency-services tier should expect provenance documentation and delivery-continuity guarantees to carry as much weight as price and technical spec.