By Blake Deshazo

The Selma Times-Journal

American Apparel has been named one of the top 15 suppliers for the United States Department of Defense. The manufacturing company, who makes and supplies uniforms for the military, was given the Gold Star Award by the Defense Logistics Agency.

“It’s a tribute to good workers that have been turning out quality products,” said U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions. “I think this really is a statement that their employees are doing first-rate work, which means they’ll be strengthened in their ability to win contracts in the future.”

Sessions said the qualities DLA looks at when naming Gold Star Supplier Award recipients are proven performance, cost of the products, on-time completion and quality.

“I’m proud of them,” Sessions said. “To be in the same breath with Lockheed Martin and Rolls Royce, two of the world’s best companies, is high cotton indeed.”

Lockheed Martin and Rolls Royce are just two of the elite companies to be named a Gold Star Supplier award for 2015.

“When you look at the people that are included in that [list], we’re excited to be in the company of those folks for sure,” said Chuck Lambert, chief operating officer of American Apparel’s Selma location.

But the Gold Star Supplier Award isn’t the only good news for the manufacturing company.

American Apparel recently won new contracts with the Department of Defense that will allow the company to employ more people at their Selma plant and reopen its plant in Opp.

“We’re ecstatic [about the new contracts],” Lambert said. “Our current contracts are going to allow us the opportunity to hire 50 to 60 more people here in Selma and about that same amount down in our Opp facility.”

Lambert said the company had layoffs two years ago, but the new contracts will allow them to get closer to their original number of employees.

The Selma plant will employ around 300 people, Lambert said, while the Opp facility will employ between 130 to 140 workers.

“When you hire 50 more people it puts you in a great position to put people back to work, and we’re all excited about that,” Lambert said. “We certainly want to try to encourage people to get back to work.”

After two years of rough times Lambert said the company is finally turning the corner.

“We’re sort of swinging back the other way,” Lambert said. “We’re excited about our future and feel we’re in a pretty good position to meet the needs of the DLA going forward.”