Gaston College

Gaston College, doing business as Gaston College Bookstore, is a U.S. local government educational institution based in Dallas, North Carolina, that operates the Textile Technology Center, providing textile testing, fabrication, and research services to the U.S. Army and delivering federal grant-funded STEM student support services as a prime recipient and subrecipient. The college holds no set-asides across its federal footprint and competes on full-and-open basis for both contract and grant work.

Gaston College's contract capability centers on textile research, testing, and production services. The college holds a $5 million multiple-award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA W911QY22A0004) with the U.S. Army Materiel Command's Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) running through June 2025, encompassing testing of textiles, fibers, coatings, fabrics, materials, garments, and textile-based end items, as well as fabrication of knit, woven, and nonwoven specimens. Representative prime contract work includes a $138,150 BPA call for moisture-moving fabric prototypes awarded May 18, 2023, a $18,784 delivery order for melt extrusion services awarded December 20, 2021, and a $3,785 delivery order for dyeing and finishing services awarded May 3, 2023. All three are issued by RDECOM under IDC W911QY21D0011. The college also holds an indefinite delivery contract (W911QY21D0011) with RDECOM; three task orders against this vehicle carry a combined potential value of $23 thousand.

Gaston College's grant portfolio splits between student support and workforce development programs. As a prime recipient, the college received a $750,000 National Science Foundation STEM Education grant (CFDA 47.076) effective March 15, 2026 through February 28, 2031 for a collaborative project supporting low-income STEM scholars across five North Carolina institutions, with scholarships up to $15,000 annually and faculty mentoring, tutoring, and career services. The college also holds a $272,364 TRIO Student Support Services grant (CFDA 84.042) from the Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, running September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, delivering comprehensive support to disadvantaged and first-generation students. A $2.28 million Economic Development Administration project grant awarded September 28, 2023 (completing September 28, 2025) funds extrusion equipment purchases for the Textile Technology Center to expand textile industry support and talent development. The college also holds TRIO Upward Bound and TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers grants from the Department of Education, both running through August 31, 2026.

Customer concentration reflects the college's dual mission. The Department of the Army Materiel Command's RDECOM dominates contract value at $5.7 million across eight awards, anchored by the $5 million BPA. The Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education leads by award count with eleven grants and support-services awards. The Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (five awards) and the National Science Foundation (four awards) round out the top customer set, which together account for 77% of recent awards. Obligated dollars across all awards total $62.2 million, substantially exceeding the combined potential value of $5.7 million, reflecting prior-year invoicing on multi-year grant and contract vehicles.

As a subcontractor, Gaston College delivers textile fiber, yarn, and fabric specimen production and testing support to Luna Labs USA LLC under Small Business Innovation Research Phase II awards (three sub awards dated July 14, 2025; August 13, 2024; and October 5, 2023). The college also acts as a sub-recipient on workforce development and clean-energy infrastructure grants from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (STEPs4Growth Program and apprenticeship certifications), North Carolina State University (textile education training for Honduras), and The Industrial Commons (NCTISE NSF Engine contribution). A 2022 sub-grant from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte supported Bridges to Baccalaureate transfer and mentoring for community college students pursuing biological sciences degrees.

Activity trajectory shows relative stability — four to five awards annually from 2022 through 2024, declining to three in 2025 and one year-to-date in 2026. Four awards with ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months carry a combined potential value of $138 thousand and face recompete exposure. The college's primary NAICS footprint aligns with its textile mission: All Other Miscellaneous Textile Product Mills (six awards) and Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (three awards).