Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (UNICOR), a wholly owned government corporation within the Department of Justice, manufactures military apparel, textiles, individual equipment, and related goods for federal agencies as a mandatory source of supply—operating exclusively as a prime contractor with no set-aside designations across its federal footprint. The organization executes its statutory mission by leveraging federal inmate labor to provide employment and job skills training while fulfilling Defense Department and other federal procurement requirements.

UNICOR's customer base is heavily concentrated in military logistics. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Clothing and Textiles division accounts for 517 awards (93% of awards by count) worth $532.8 million in combined potential value—the overwhelming majority of UNICOR's federal work. The Department of the Army Materiel Command Security Assistance Command represents the second-largest customer with 48 awards valued at $158.7 million, followed by the Army Training and Doctrine Command with 8 awards worth $13.8 million. Together, these three customer entities represent 99% of UNICOR's combined potential value across 24 distinct federal agencies served.

UNICOR's capability portfolio spans military clothing manufacturing across five dominant product lines: men's and boys' cut and sew apparel (170 awards), women's, girls', and infants' cut and sew apparel (138 awards), cut and sew apparel contracting (115 awards), special-purpose clothing (111 awards), and apparel accessories (64 awards). Concrete delivery orders exemplify this range—a $4.256 million Defense Logistics Agency award on March 26, 2026, for extreme cold weather jackets; a $2.307 million delivery for men's shirts on August 20, 2025; a $1.518 million Navy delivery order on January 15, 2026, for Navy working parkas Type III; and a $933,600 Army delivery order on July 16, 2025, for CINCH bags. UNICOR also supplies specialized items including flyer's helmet bags, grenade carriers, canteen pouches, mattresses, bed sheets, berth curtains, and meteorological parachutes to Naval Sea Systems Command, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, and other branches.

UNICOR holds nine active Indefinite Delivery Contracts with ceiling values ranging from $1.49 million to $15.5 million. The largest is a $15.5 million IDC with Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support for improved maternity Army Combat Uniforms (awarded September 2023, ten delivery orders issued to date). Four additional high-value contracts include a $13.3 million general-purpose trunks and tactical gear vehicle (December 2024), a $12.7 million clothing and textiles IDC (March 2026), a $10.1 million utility jacket and tactical equipment vehicle (September 2025), and a $6.1 million Army cinch bag contract (September 2025). Smaller vehicles include $5.1 million for personal presentation item water bottles (April 2025), $3.1 million for Army blender bottles and PPI equipment (August 2024), $1.8 million for Air Force Academy T-shirts (January 2025), and $1.49 million for tarpaulins (May 2024). Task order activity under these IDCs ranges from 152 orders under a single vehicle to 27 orders across others, demonstrating consistent government demand.

Recent activity shows year-over-year decline: 69 awards in 2022 rose to 176 in 2023, then moderated to 168 in 2024 and 150 in 2025, with only 28 awards recorded through April 2026 (year-to-date). Twenty-four awards carrying $22.3 million in combined potential value face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete exposure for UNICOR and recompete opportunity for competitors. UNICOR's 630-award portfolio has generated $183.2 million in obligated funds (25% of the $722.1 million combined potential value ceiling), indicating substantial baseline funded commitment and execution velocity.

UNICOR competes exclusively under its mandatory-source status with no SBA set-asides. As a government entity rather than a commercial vendor, it does not hold parent GWAC or BPA positions available to other contractors. Its subcontract footprint is minimal—one identified sub-award to Avon Protection Systems for M50/M51 mask system components and carriers on a 2023 delivery—reflecting UNICOR's direct-prime posture across federal procurement.