A Patented Insect-Barrier Technology Built for Defense, Now Heading to Hotels and Hospitals

For more than two decades, Warmkraft’s patented closed-loop impregnation process has treated millions of U.S. military uniforms with a protective barrier against insects that transmit dengue, malaria and Zika. Now the company is preparing to test that same technology in an entirely different market: hotels, hospitals and healthcare facilities seeking to protect their textile assets—bed linens, uniforms, upholstery, drapery—from disease-carrying insects endemic to tropical and subtropical climates.

That commercial pivot signals a maturation of Puerto Rico’s defense-textile sector beyond procurement-driven contracts toward innovation-driven commercialization.

It also explains why Warmkraft is investing more than $16 million to establish manufacturing operations in Mayagüez at the Guanajibo Industrial Park, where it will combine military production with research and development infrastructure designed to evaluate new applications.

The Mayagüez facility will create approximately 65 jobs and generate an estimated annual payroll of $3.27 million. The company, a division of Perimeter Insect Guard, expects to begin operations before the end of the year.

Of the $16 million investment, $13,654,200 will go toward machinery and equipment, with $3,518,400 in tax incentives under Puerto Rico’s Incentives Code, plus an additional $162,500 tied to job creation.

But the investment itself is indicative of what it enables: the infrastructure to expand a military-proven technology into adjacent markets where the competitive advantage—proprietary chemistry, EPA compliance, manufacturing scale—can command premium positioning against competitors.

A Specialized Technology With Dual Pathways

The innovation itself is grounded in defense research and military requirements. Since 2006, Warmkraft’s technology has been continuously refined through participation in initiatives to develop and evaluate new uniform-treatment technologies, including work connected to the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity.

The company understands its market position within the framework of the Berry Amendment, the 1941 law that requires the Pentagon to source textiles 100% domestically.

That structural advantage, paired with Puerto Rico’s cost base and manufacturing scale, explains why three Puerto Rico textile firms booked roughly $119 million in Pentagon apparel contracts in just nine months.

But Warmkraft’s CEO Brandon Graves sees an opportunity beyond that protected market. “Puerto Rico represents a strategic opportunity for Warmkraft’s growth and for expanding our capacity to support the U.S. defense industry,” Graves said. “Our goal is to build a long-term operation here that combines technology, innovation and specialized manufacturing while we continue exploring new applications for our technology.”

That includes hotels and hospitals, which face endemic challenges with insect-borne disease transmission, particularly in tropical and subtropical climates where dengue and malaria remain risks.

High-end resorts, medical facilities and healthcare operations have enormous textile footprints—bed linens, uniforms, upholstery, drapery—all potential targets for the kind of protective treatment Warmkraft has perfected for military use.

The company expects to use an EPA-compliant closed-loop process designed to meet environmental standards while delivering the protective barrier that military applications require.

The facility will lease 30,774 square feet at the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) site in Mayagüez, a property that had been vacant for more than 15 years. Its reopening adds a local supplier to the island’s military-textile value chain at a moment when that chain is expanding rapidly.

Puerto Rico’s Textile Moment

Warmkraft’s Mayagüez bet arrives as Puerto Rico’s defense-textile sector is experiencing a measurable expansion. The island’s apparel manufacturing employment grew from 7,167 workers in 2020 to 8,238 in 2024, a 15% increase, while total wages in the sector rose from $105.5 million to $180.5 million, a 71% increase over the same four-year period, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by the Department of Economic Development and Commerce.

With 8,238 apparel workers, Puerto Rico is now a larger apparel manufacturing employer than New York (7,505 workers), Texas (4,739) or Florida (3,276), despite having only 64 establishments against New York’s 818. That concentration reflects the scale that Berry-covered federal contracts require, large plants capable of meeting Pentagon volume and quality standards.

The competitive advantage also rests on wage differentials. Average annual pay in Puerto Rico apparel manufacturing was $21,914 in 2024, against $70,241 in New York and $68,382 in Florida.

That cost position, even as wages on the island have risen, gives Puerto Rico firms a structural advantage in bidding for large federal textile contracts.

Federal procurement records list a cluster of island firms holding Defense Logistics Agency, Coast Guard and Army contracts, including Propper International in Cabo Rojo; BlueWater Defense with plants across multiple municipalities; SNC Manufacturing in Camuy; Kandor in Arecibo; Aurora Industries; M&M Manufacturing; and Puerto Rico Industries for the Blind.

BlueWater alone reports having produced more than 20 million garments across its Defense Department history, including 7.2 million combat trousers and 5.8 million coats.

The Mayagüez facility signals that Warmkraft and others are preparing for a future in which defense work and commercial applications coexist.

Innovation-Driven Next Phase

The defense-textile sector has grown through favorable legislation and cost advantage, both durable factors. But if individual companies like Warmkraft can extend their technological capabilities into adjacent markets—hospitality, healthcare, industrial applications—the sector’s growth potential expands from procurement-driven contracts into innovation-driven commercialization.

For now, the military-uniform market remains the primary revenue engine, protected by the Berry Amendment and supported by a pipeline of $119 million in recent Pentagon awards.

But the Mayagüez facility signals that Warmkraft and, potentially, other companies in the sector are preparing for a future in which defense work and commercial applications coexist.

That would represent another step in the maturation of Puerto Rico’s defense-industrial base, one where the island’s advantage extends beyond being the lowest-cost domestic source to being a center of specialized manufacturing innovation capable of serving multiple markets simultaneously.