FORT COLLINS – FiberLok Inc., a three-decade old Fort Collins company, is predicting significant growth this year as the company wins new contracts worldwide.

CEO Brown Abrams said he expects his company to double sales just this year. That growth will come from a contract involving military police uniforms for two South American countries and fabric covers for smart phones.

"We have so much going on here," Abrams said.

Established in November 1979, the award-winning company makes products for more than 100 niche markets. It specializes in graphics on everything from uniforms to team jerseys.

FiberLok is part of a U.S. industry that is one of the largest manufacturing employers in the nation, employing nearly 600,000 people in 2010, according to the National Council of Textile Organizations. Textile shipments totaled $51 billion, and exports grew 20 percent to more than $15 billion that year.

Unlike many of its competitors, FiberLok employs manufacturing techniques that eschew embroidery. Instead, it uses its Lextra technology in textile printing, making patches and stickers and adding soft fabrics to plastic.

Embroidery remains one of the only options for classy work,