WARSAW, POLAND and LONDON, UK – 14, OCTOBER 2026 – Coats Digital is pleased to announce that rapidly growing Polish defence and uniform manufacturer UNIFEQ Europe Sp. z o.o. has invested in its award-winning GSDCost solution together with its AI-powered GSDQuest platform to establish a consistent approach to garment costing, improve sewing-floor productivity and accelerate labour costing for tenders and new products.
The implementation is focused initially on UNIFEQ Europe’s apparel and uniform manufacturing plant in Kętrzyn, where GSDCost will establish standard minute values (SMVs) for core uniform styles, support line balancing and capacity planning, and provide the foundation for a new performance-related bonus scheme for production operators. GSDQuest will enable the company to generate fast, AI-powered first-pass Bills of Labour from garment images.
Founded in 2011, UNIFEQ Europe is an independent Polish family-owned manufacturer specialising in military and uniformed-services apparel, tactical equipment and individual ballistic protection. The company supplies armed forces and uniformed services across Poland and Europe, with recent major contract wins including the Swedish Police and the armed forces of Sweden and France.
With annual turnover exceeding PLN 240 million (approximately USD 60–65 million), UNIFEQ Europe is experiencing rapid growth and was recognised among Poland’s fastest-growing companies in the Forbes Diamonds 2025 ranking. The company is also investing millions of PLN in expanding its Kętrzyn operation, including a new ballistic protection production line, R&D department and in-house ballistic laboratory.
As its order book has grown, UNIFEQ Europe recognised that its existing production standards and costing processes needed to evolve. Sewing-floor targets were based on historical and observed times rather than a standardised methodology, while production and piece-rate records were maintained manually in Excel. This made it more difficult to accurately measure performance, optimise line capacity and prepare reliable labour costings for complex defence tenders.
Piotr Kowalik, CEO UNIFEQ Europe, said: “UNIFEQ has grown from a start-up into a supplier of uniforms, equipment and ballistic protection to armed forces across Europe, and today the order book of our sewing plant in Kętrzyn exceeds our current capacity. To scale up responsibly we need one objective language for time, cost and performance on the sewing floor – one that our technologists, planners, line leaders and operators can all trust. GSDCost gives us exactly that. Method-based standard minutes will allow us to balance our lines properly, cost tenders and new products accurately and quickly, and – importantly – reward our operators fairly for their real performance. We expect a sustainable, measurable improvement in productivity and a much faster costing process, which is essential as we recruit and train the new operators that our growth requires.”
Built on Coats Digital’s globally recognised GSD methodology, GSDCost enables manufacturers to establish scientifically accurate Standard Minute Values using internationally recognised motion codes and predetermined times. For UNIFEQ Europe, this will provide a common benchmark for costing, line balancing, capacity planning, operator performance and training.
Alongside GSDCost, GSDQuest uses AI to analyse garment images and automatically generate a first-pass Bill of Labour, helping UNIFEQ Europe reduce the time required to prepare labour costings for new styles and tenders.
The company will also use GSDCost to support the redesign of its bonus scheme, giving operators a transparent basis for performance-related rewards. As the Kętrzyn site expands, GSD-based methods and targets will also help newly recruited operators understand expected performance and shorten their learning curves.
Piotr Kowalik, CEO UNIFEQ Europe added: “For us, the value of this investment goes beyond costing. We are building a manufacturing operation that needs to support significant growth, and that means giving our teams clear standards, reliable data and the right tools to make better decisions. GSDCost and GSDQuest will help us create a stronger connection between our engineering, production and commercial activities, while giving us a scalable foundation for the future.”
UNIFEQ Europe’s next phase will include extending GSDCost into its sample room and tender pre-costing process, using GSDQuest for fast first-pass costing of new styles. The company also plans to use GSD standards to support the training of new operators and provide a common benchmark for its external production partners.
Hakan Canbolat, Regional Sales Manager, EMEA & N. America, Coats Digital, said: “UNIFEQ Europe is a great example of a manufacturer that understands the importance of establishing the right foundations as it scales. Rapid growth brings enormous opportunity, but it also makes consistency, visibility and control across the sewing floor increasingly important. GSDCost gives UNIFEQ a trusted, internationally recognised standard for measuring time and performance, while GSDQuest brings the speed and intelligence of AI to the costing process. Together, they will help the company make faster, more informed decisions while creating a stronger foundation for productivity, workforce development and future growth.”
The investment marks an important step in UNIFEQ Europe’s digital transformation as it builds the capacity, processes and capabilities required to support its continued expansion across the European defence and uniform market.
About UNIFEQ Europe
Founded in 2011, UNIFEQ Europe is a Polish family-owned company specialising in the design, manufacture and supply of advanced products and integrated solutions for uniformed services. The company provides a comprehensive portfolio spanning combat and field uniforms, tactical and load-bearing equipment, ballistic protection and technical textiles, with products tailored to the needs of armed forces, police and other uniformed services.
With operations in Poland and an established customer base across Europe, UNIFEQ combines product design, material development, engineering and manufacturing expertise to deliver bespoke solutions for demanding operational environments. The company has worked with European land forces and police forces across Poland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France and the UK.
UNIFEQ is committed to quality, innovation and long-term partnerships, with its quality and environmental management systems certified to AQAP 2110:2016, ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001.2015
About Coats Digital
Coats Digital is the leading digital transformation partner for the fashion supply chain, powering sustainable processes and high value insights through connected technologies. We leverage deep industry and technology expertise to help brands and manufacturers optimise, connect and accelerate business critical processes from design and development to method-time-cost optimisation, production planning and control, fabric optimisation and shop floor execution. Used in over 3,000 factories globally, our unmatched end-to-end apparel, footwear and textile software and SaaS solutions improve agility, speed to market, efficiency, transparency and sustainability. Coats Digital – transform with intelligence. coatsdigital.com
Coats Digital is the software business of Coats Group, the world’s leading industrial thread company and a trusted industry player.
About GSDCost
GSDCost is the international standard for establishing and optimising accurate method-time-cost benchmarks for sustainable garment cost optimisation and manufacturing excellence
GSDCost supports a more collaborative, transparent and sustainable supply chain, in which brands and manufacturers establish and optimise ‘International Standard Time Benchmarks’ using standard motion codes and predetermined times. This use of a common language and standards supports accurate cost prediction, fact-based negotiation, and a more efficient garment manufacturing process, while concurrently delivering on CSR commitments.
GSDCost has been recognised for its exceptional contributions and ability to significantly revolutionise the fashion industry, by securing four awards at the International SaaS Awards 2023. A panel of independent judges chose GSDCiost as the winner in the categories: Best SaaS for Improved Productivity Award (Non-USA), Best Data-Driven SaaS Product Award, Best SaaS Product for ERP/MRP Award and the Best SaaS Product for Product Analytics Award.
About GSDQuest
GSDQuest is a cutting-edge AI innovation from Coats Digital that transforms garment costing through intelligent automation. Designed to work seamlessly with the GSDCost platform, it uses powerful image-based analysis to automatically generate accurate, standardised Bills of Labour in seconds. By leveraging Coats Digital’s proprietary QED Library, GSDQuest eliminates the need for manual costing inputs, significantly increases speed and consistency, and delivers scalable, data-driven results across product lines and vendor networks. With intuitive usability for non-experts, GSDQuest makes world-class costing accessible to anyone involved in design, sourcing or production.
