Mills Manufacturing Corporation

Mills Manufacturing Corporation, a family-owned manufacturer of military parachute systems and components based in Woodfin, North Carolina, operates exclusively as a prime contractor (100% of recent awards) supplying specialized parachute equipment and related assemblies to the Department of Defense. The company competes across both set-aside (Total Small Business) and full-and-open vehicles, with set-asides appearing on roughly one-third of recent awards. Mills Manufacturing is a manufacturer of goods organized as a for-profit Subchapter S corporation with over 75 years of operational history in military aerospace and soldier safety equipment.

Mills Manufacturing's customer concentration is heavily skewed to Army logistics and sustainment organizations. The top five customers by potential value account for 95% of combined portfolio value, dominated by the Department of the Army Materiel Command's Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM, $453.2 million across 16 awards) and Army Contracting Command Detroit Arsenal (ACC Warren, $277.8 million across 11 awards). The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, while carrying the highest award count (288 awards), represents $152.5 million in potential value. This split reflects Mills Manufacturing's dual role as a prime on large indefinite delivery contracts with RDECOM and ACC Warren, and as a task-order executor on smaller recurring procurements through DLA Aviation. The Department of the Army Acquisition Support Center and PEO Soldier round out the active customer set with $30.5 million and $18.6 million respectively. Mills Manufacturing's primary PSC is parachute and aerial systems equipment (1,070 awards under PSC code for parachutes and cargo tie-down systems), with secondary exposure in fiber rope and cordage (59 awards).

Recent activity shows growth: four awards in 2024 to 22 in 2025, with three awards recorded so far in 2026. Combined portfolio potential value reaches $1.01 billion across 1,213 prime awards over a four-decade span, with $496.4 million obligated to date (49% realization). Twenty-one awards carrying $39.2 million in potential value face ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months and therefore recompete exposure.

Mills Manufacturing's vehicle portfolio includes multiple large master IDIQs. The $453.2 million T-11 Personnel Parachute System contract with RDECOM (ultimate completion June 30, 2025) supports personnel parachute systems and components; a $6.4 million delivery order awarded April 19, 2024, exemplifies recent task-order activity. The G-16 Cargo Parachute and Related Supplies IDIQ ($161.2 million, awarded April 23, 2025, total small business set-aside, ultimate completion March 24, 2030) procures 16-line G-16 cargo parachute variants; a $6.2 million delivery order issued April 23, 2025, demonstrates ongoing task-order placement. The G-15 Cargo Parachutes IDIQ ($53.5 million, March 14, 2025, total small business set-aside, March 9, 2030 completion) covers G-15 parachutes, A-24 cargo bags, and cargo extraction assemblies, with a $3.85 million delivery order from March 14, 2025. A $10.3 million multiple-award IDC for 15-foot cargo parachutes (awarded April 30, 2025, small business set-aside, April 30, 2030 completion) supports parachute procurement with a $1.59 million delivery order under TACOM Life Cycle Management Command from April 30, 2025. Mills Manufacturing also holds a Basic Ordering Agreement under the BOAST Program (established April 3, 2026, through April 1, 2031, zero ceiling) for Class IX supplies (repair parts and components) through ACC Warren. Recent named work includes an $8.88 million delivery order from PEO Soldier (May 31, 2026) for 1,280 units of MC-6 parachute systems with assemblies and reserve components, and a $283,056 delivery order from PEO Soldier (December 18, 2025) for MC-6 systems destined for Bulgaria through Foreign Military Sales channels. Mills Manufacturing does not carry sub-award relationships; the vendor operates entirely in prime posture across its federal footprint.