The business of dressing Europe’s armies

Polish Trawena has won a prestigious contract, strengthening its position as a specialist manufacturer of military apparel and flame-resistant underwear. It now plans to target the armed forces of other NATO members.

The company started out making basic underwear for the military. Today, Polish firm Trawena is executing a contract worth tens of millions of euros for the Bundeswehr and planning to enter additional NATO markets. It is building its position as a specialist supplier of flame-resistant underwear and military apparel, progressing from domestic orders to long-term contracts across Europe.

Trawena’s history illustrates how a position can be built patiently in one of the most demanding industries. As Sebastian Knap, the company’s CEO, explains, its entry into the German market began in 2019–20 with the simplest products – primarily military socks. Only later did the company expand its range to include standard underwear, flame-resistant underwear, and then combat trousers and combat shirts.

Trawena’s growth has been organic, driven by investment in machinery, personnel and technology. As the CEO emphasizes, there is no room for improvisation when producing for the military. Every product must meet detailed specifications, undergo testing and obtain the required certifications. Every parameter matters, and the requirements are binary: a product either meets them or it does not.

The decision to expand abroad also proved crucial. After a difficult 2016, when domestic orders no longer provided the company with the stability they once had, Trawena began participating more actively in international tenders. The company opted to diversify its business and reduce its dependence on the Polish market.

First successes abroad

Scandinavia proved to be Trawena’s first major foreign market. In 2019, the company won a tender to supply flame-resistant and woolen underwear to the Swedish Army. At the time, it was the largest order in the company’s history. Full-scale deliveries began in 2020, and the company has since supplied the Swedish armed forces with more than 5 million garments.

The contract also played an important role in the company’s development. As Sebastian Knap recalls, the Swedish Army gave contractors greater latitude than the armed forces of many other countries. This allowed Trawena not only to fulfill the order but also to help improve the products. That model of cooperation later became one of the pillars of the company’s business.

At the same time, the company was involved in developing flame-resistant underwear for the Polish Armed Forces. As the CEO emphasizes, Trawena is a pioneer in this segment in Poland. This involved more than simply supplying finished products: the company also helped develop solutions that were later incorporated into tender specifications and introduced into soldiers’ equipment.

It is worth noting that the Polish military was Trawena’s first customer for flame-resistant underwear. The company manufactures 100 percent of its production for the Polish Army exclusively at its own production facilities in Poland. The combat shirts supplied by the company have followed exactly the same path.

The Bundeswehr and the biggest contract

Trawena’s biggest achievement in recent months has been a contract to supply combat shirts to the Bundeswehr. It covers approximately 1 million garments to be delivered over five to seven years. The order is worth tens of millions of euros, making it the largest contract in Trawena’s history, both in terms of value and production volume.

”Germany plans its purchases well in advance, with the order schedule extending as far as 2039. For the company, that means stability, but also the need for long-term planning, price hedging and managing the risks associated with raw-material costs,” says Sebastian Knap, CEO of Trawena. Photo: press materials.

As Sebastian Knap explains, Germany’s public procurement system does not rely on a single contractor. The Bundeswehr splits contracts among several suppliers, which is why Trawena secured only part of the overall order. The company competed against firms from Germany and Poland, gaining an edge through its technology and experience in producing flame-resistant clothing. This was crucial given the specifications: the body of the combat shirts being ordered is also made from flame-resistant material.

The contract runs for several years.

“Germany plans its purchases well in advance, with the order schedule extending as far as 2039. For the company, that means stability, but also the need for long-term planning, price hedging and managing the risks associated with raw-material costs,” the CEO says.

How do you win military tenders?

The interview paints a picture of a company that does not treat the military as an ordinary customer. In public procurement, what matters most is compliance with specifications, laboratory test results, technology and the appropriate certifications.

As the CEO emphasizes, every tender requires the company to start almost from scratch. Individual armed forces have their own requirements, experience and procedures for approving products for use.

In practice, Trawena acts as a specialized integrator of the entire production process. It knows where to source the right yarn, commission the knitting, dyeing and sewing, and how to organize the supply chain to meet the customer’s requirements. With the product and suppliers properly prepared, obtaining certification takes between three and six months.

In Poland, the procedure is more formalized. The design must be approved and tests conducted at the Military Research and Implementation Center for Uniformed Services. In many foreign markets, the process is different: contractors submit the finished product together with a complete set of test results.

Scale and organization

Trawena has grown from a small business into a company employing around 40 people. Its headquarters are in Lublin in south-eastern Poland, while teams responsible for preparing bids, procurement and quality control are based in Legionowo near Warsaw. The company also employs quality inspectors in Bangladesh. Although it now operates on an international model, its center of expertise remains in Poland.

Further growth will require not only increased production capacity, but also the recruitment of specialists in public procurement and the textile industry. The company plans to expand its exports and enter new markets. One of its greatest strengths remains its flexibility: the ability to organize production in both Europe and Asia, depending on the customer’s requirements.

Increasingly, however, manufacturing garments in Poland is becoming a challenge. The domestic garment industry has been significantly weakened in recent years, while finding skilled workers is becoming increasingly difficult. The company is therefore investing in automation and hiring workers from Ukraine and South America.

Dual-use? Not for everyone

Sebastian Knap is skeptical of the increasingly popular concept of dual-use, or applying the same capabilities and technologies to both civilian and military production. In his view, it is not a suitable path for every company, particularly mass-market apparel manufacturers.

As he points out, specialized military clothing operates by entirely different rules from the fashion market. Sewing skills alone are not enough. Success depends on technology, testing, certifications and experience gained through public tenders. That is why, in his view, brands such as Adidas, Nike and 4F would not find it easy to enter the segment. Trawena, for its part, has no intention of competing with them in the retail market.

The company does not, however, rule out projects beyond the military sector. As the CEO notes, if a partner with the right marketing and sales capabilities were to come along, Trawena could consider working with them. For now, its priority remains unchanged: specialized clothing for the armed forces.

Business risks

Although Trawena is growing rapidly and winning new contracts, its business model is not without risk. The main threats stem from long-term agreements, fluctuations in raw-material prices, reliance on public tenders and the volatility of military procurement.

“The Bundeswehr contract provides stability, but it also requires long-term planning and price hedging for the years ahead,” Sebastian Knap notes.

Raw-material prices remain a major challenge. The CEO cites wool as an example: its price doubled within a matter of months. With contracts spanning many years, the company must preserve its margins while also demonstrating to the customer that higher costs reflect genuine market changes rather than an attempt to increase its margin.

Risk also stems from the very structure of the military market. Procurement is heavily influenced by politics, defense budgets and decisions made by individual countries. A period of rapid growth could therefore be followed by a slowdown.

“If Europe and the world enter a period of greater stability, armies may simply stop buying at today’s pace because they will have replenished their stocks,” the Trawena CEO says.

Operational risk is also significant. The company operates across several countries, different certification systems and complex supply chains, while every tender requires a product to be prepared specifically for the customer. This means that even with a strong market position, Trawena cannot afford quality failures, delays or problems with component availability.

These challenges, along with changing market conditions – including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East – have prompted Trawena to build independent supply chains for individual products. Each product can be manufactured using Asian resources, while production can be shifted to the European Union if necessary.

Staffing risk also matters. The company is growing faster than the pool of specialists in textile manufacturing and public procurement. At the same time, Poland is facing a shortage of garment-factory workers.

“So we have to invest in automation, look for workers abroad and maintain the expertise needed to handle highly demanding military contracts at the same time,” Sebastian Knap says.

You can’t afford to stand still

Trawena plans to expand into the Lithuanian, Austrian and Spanish markets. It also wants to return to Norway, where it has previously carried out contracts. The company intends to broaden its product range and win additional military orders.

It is also considering acquisitions and is in talks with an adviser specializing in M&A transactions. As Sebastian Knap acknowledges, if Trawena is to grow faster than organic expansion allows, it will need a partner or an acquisition.

At the same time, management recognizes that the military market is cyclical and heavily dependent on geopolitical conditions. A period of intensive procurement may be followed by a phase of stabilization. The company’s strategy therefore calls for geographic diversification. The goal is not to be present in three European markets, but in at least 10 – and, over the longer term, beyond Europe as well.

A promising market

Trawena is, of course, not the only Polish company operating in this segment. Maskpol, part of the state-owned PGZ Group, also has proprietary designs for flame-resistant underwear for various customer groups. The company does not disclose whether, or to what extent, it currently supplies such products to the Polish military, or whether it participates in foreign procurement processes. Its press office says this is due to the need to protect information about its sales policy and trade secrets.

The company says it continuously monitors both the Polish and foreign markets and sees considerable potential in them, although it does not provide specific figures. According to Maskpol, the outlook for the flame-resistant underwear market is good, and the use of such garments in the face of modern threats should be regarded as an essential element of soldier protection. The company also points out that the military is not the only customer for such products. Interest in these solutions is growing beyond the armed forces as well.

Key Takeaways

1. The military apparel market is driven by technology, certification and compliance with specifications – not brand recognition or experience in the consumer market. Competitive advantage comes from years of expertise, technological capabilities and the ability to meet the stringent requirements of individual armed forces.
2. International expansion reduces dependence on a single market, but requires long-term planning and effective risk management. Long-term contracts provide stability while also exposing suppliers to rising raw-material costs, fluctuations in demand driven by national defense policies and the costs of maintaining complex international supply chains.
3. Further growth for defense-sector manufacturers will depend not only on winning new contracts, but also on their ability to automate, attract specialists and diversify geographically. Growing labor shortages and the cyclical nature of defense spending mean companies must invest simultaneously in expertise, production organization and a presence across multiple markets.