Pro Knitwear

What Pro Knitwear does

Pro Knitwear is a full-service custom apparel decoration company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, continuously operating since 1953. The company applies five core decoration methods — screen printing, embroidery, heat transfer vinyl, tackle twill, and sublimation printing — to a range of base garments (t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, sport shirts, hats, uniforms, and jerseys) sourced from a network of apparel suppliers including Sanmar, A4 Apparel, Augusta Sportswear, Alphabroder, S&S Activewear, Athletic Knit, Founder Sports, and Pennant. On-site lettering facilities and digital proofs support rapid turnaround on custom orders.

The company operates a hybrid B2B and self-serve go-to-market. Enterprise and institutional customers (professional sports teams, universities, healthcare systems, nonprofits) place orders through direct quote requests, while SMB and consumer customers access the ProKnit By You online design tool or branded Team Stores / Webstores storefronts configured per organization. Pricing is unit-based, with apparel items ranging from $13 (basic t-shirts) to over $75 (premium hoodies), plus customization add-ons such as embroidered names and back lettering. Volume discounts are offered, and orders are billed pay-as-you-go.

Pro Knitwear serves a horizontally segmented customer base that includes youth and amateur sports leagues, professional sports organizations (Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Francisco 49ers, University of Pittsburgh athletics), schools and educational institutions, healthcare systems (Allegheny Health Network, UPMC), and nonprofit organizations. The company is privately held with 1-10 employees, no external funding history, and no disclosed revenue figures. Its marketing presence is concentrated on its own e-commerce website, Team Stores, and organic social channels (Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, YouTube).

Name

Pro Knitwear

Legal name

Pro Knitwear

Website

https://proknitwear.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pro Knitwear is a Pittsburgh-based custom apparel decoration company, founded in 1953, providing screen printing, embroidery, sublimation, tackle twill, and vinyl services to professional sports teams, schools, healthcare systems, youth leagues, and nonprofits via direct sales and self-serve webstores.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Apparel Decoration

NAICS

Apparel Manufacturing (315)

SIC

Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Team & Promotional Apparel Cut & Sew (Screenprint/Embroidery-Ready) (IMAOAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Workwear, Uniforms & Safety Apparel Cut & Sew (IMAOAEAC)

Keywords

• Custom apparel decoration
• Screen printing services
• Embroidery services
• Team uniforms and jerseys
• Sublimation printing

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Apparel Sales: One-time sale of custom-decorated apparel items including t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, uniforms, and jerseys. Orders are placed through webstores, quote requests, or the ProKnit By You design tool. Volume discounts available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pro Knitwear is a full-service custom apparel decoration company that manufactures and decorates apparel including t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, sport shirts, hats, uniforms, and jerseys. The company offers screen printing, embroidery, heat transfer vinyl, tackle twill, and sublimation printing services with on-site lettering facilities. It also provides branded Team Stores webstores and the ProKnit By You custom design tool for organizations and individual customers.

Product overview

Pro Knitwear is a full-service apparel decoration company offering screen printing, embroidery, heat transfer vinyl, tackle twill, and sublimation printing services. The company provides custom-designed apparel including t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, sport shirts, hats, uniforms, and jerseys. Key products include the ProKnit By You custom design builder and Team Stores webstore platform. The company operates from Pittsburgh since 1953, providing digital proofs, on-site lettering facilities, and serving organizations from youth leagues to professional sports teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Screen Printing Multi-color screen printing service with personal touch and attention to detail and quantity discounts, applied to a wide range of apparel including t-shirts, hoodies, and other garments.
• Embroidery Custom embroidery service that can customize, create, and place logos on a wide variety of products including blankets, golf shirts, and pants.
• Heat Transfer Vinyl Heat or pressure seal vinyl lettering applied to a variety of surfaces, producing promotional signs, banners, tents, and decorated apparel.
• Tackle Twill Process of attaching twill fabric to garments for athletic jersey lettering, producing professional athletic jerseys with sewn-on lettering.
• Sublimation Printing Full-color, edge-to-edge printing directly into fabric for a sleek professional finish, ideal for athletic wear with vibrant designs that won't crack or fade.
• ProKnit By You Custom design builder tool allowing customers to design their own jerseys with online design capabilities and video tutorials for self-service custom apparel ordering.
• Team Stores (Webstores) Webstores for teams and organizations to provide spirit wear, uniforms, and decorated apparel, functioning as fundraisers with open and closed store options for members and supporters.

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SanmarcoreOthersMajor apparel supplier providing base garments and blank apparel products for Pro Knitwear's decoration services.
• A4 ApparelcoreOthersApparel supplier providing blank garments for customization.
• Augusta SportswearcoreOthersSports apparel manufacturer supplying athletic wear for decoration.
• AlphabrodercoreOthersMajor apparel distributor providing blank garments for decoration.
• S&S ActivewearcoreOthersActivewear distributor supplying blank apparel for customization.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CustomInk: CustomInk is a leading direct-to-consumer custom apparel platform offering screen printing, embroidery, and decoration services to groups, teams, schools, and businesses — directly competing with Pro Knitwear in the same product category with similar decoration methods.
• Underground Printing: Underground Printing is a custom screen printing and apparel decoration company serving businesses, schools, and organizations — comparable to Pro Knitwear as a multi-location custom apparel decorator with similar B2B team/school customer focus.
• Stitch & Tie: Stitch & Tie is a custom apparel decoration service offering embroidery, screen printing, and promotional products to businesses and organizations — similar full-service decoration model and customer base to Pro Knitwear.
• Team Sportswear: Team Sportswear is a custom team apparel and uniform provider serving youth leagues, schools, and athletic organizations — directly comparable customer segment and product offering to Pro Knitwear's youth and amateur sports business.
• RushOrderTees: RushOrderTees is a custom apparel decorator specializing in screen printing and embroidery for sports teams, schools, and businesses — a direct competitor emphasizing fast turnaround, mirroring Pro Knitwear's on-site production value proposition.

Emerging players

• Printful: Printful is a digital-first print-on-demand and embroidery platform serving small businesses and creators — competes in the same custom apparel decoration space but with a fully digital, no-minimum model that contrasts with Pro Knitwear's traditional B2B approach.
• Real Thread: Real Thread is a custom apparel decorator specializing in screen printing and embroidery for brands, businesses, and organizations — comparable service offerings but with a more digitally native, brand-focused positioning than Pro Knitwear's local relationship-driven model.

Broad incumbents

• 4imprint: 4imprint is a large promotional products and custom apparel distributor serving businesses, schools, and organizations — comparable customer base and product overlap but operates at much greater scale with a national catalog model.
• Vistaprint (Cimpress): Vistaprint is a large-scale custom printing and apparel platform serving SMBs with branded merchandise, apparel, and marketing materials — overlaps with Pro Knitwear's custom apparel business but as part of a much broader product portfolio.

Regional players

• Stat Sports Group: Regional custom apparel and team uniform providers serving local sports leagues and schools in specific U.S. markets — comparable to Pro Knitwear's model but operating in different geographies without direct competition in the Pittsburgh MSA.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/proknitwear
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@proknitwear3500/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/proknitwear
• Instagraminstagram.com/pro_knitwear/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pro-knitwear

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pro Knitwear