First State Manufacturing has been awarded its first 5-year contract with Amtrak to provide textile support for the railroad service’s interior fleet renovation projects, the company announced Sept. 30, 2015.
“Over the past 2 years we have worked closely with our partners at Amtrak to fulfill the work that we have been awarded to date. They were smaller orders than this award. Our quality cut and sew processes combined with our reverse engineering, and on-time delivery contributed to our ability to confidently bid on and win this new carpet contract,” said First State President and CEO Dave Hitchens.
“We immersed ourselves in everything Amtrak,” said Tim Wentland, First State Director of Quality, Production, and Facilities. “When we visited Amtrak in Indianapolis, their maintenance team showed us how each rail car undergoes a complete refurbishment every few years and we saw that what we do could fulfill that need for comfort and quality that Amtrak requires.”
Hitchens commented, “During Fiscal Year 2014 Amtrak served nearly 31 million passengers averaging almost 85,000 passengers daily, causing a great amount of wear and tear on their fleet. First State Manufacturing is very excited about this new phase of manufacturing for the company. It is the combination of various diverse partnerships that has kept and continues to keep our production lines busy year round providing stability and continued job growth to Milford and the state of Delaware.”
“First State Manufacturing has become an award winning company and is one of the most successful manufacturers of its size in the nation, manufacturing products which include carpet refurbishment; mass transit seating, V22 Osprey seats, plugs and covers; C130 cargo aircraft seating solutions; C5 aircraft refurbishment; missile and truck covers and pharmaceutical supplies,” the company says. “First State Manufacturing has earned its reputation for providing solutions that solve the challenges its customer’s face, while continuing to grow manufacturing jobs in Sussex County, Delaware.”