🔒Brewer defense manufacturer plans to scale up production of advanced shelters

Compotech Inc., a defense contractor in Brewer, is planning to scale up production of next-generation composite structures for the U.S. military.

The company was awarded a $952,228 loan from the latest round of the Maine Technology Institute’s Maine Technology Asset Fund.

“The big push for this funding is to buy equipment to increase production,” Paul Melrose, Compotech’s president, told Mainebiz.

Announced earlier this year, the money is part of $25 million in awards, funded by a voter-approved research and development bond, to 23 Maine businesses and research organizations to drive growth in Maine's innovation economy.

Scaling up

Since 2020, Compotech has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into automated systems that integrate robotics to create ballistic protection systems and expeditionary shelters for the U.S. Army.

Just last year, the expansion drive saw the company invest more than $1.3 million in new equipment. Staffed by 80 employees, Compotech increased its Brewer factory site to more than 50,000 square feet and opened an office in Orono for its digital solutions business.

Compotech has been on Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing companies list for three straight years.

Advanced shelter

The latest push builds on the company’s development of a new and more advanced panelized shelter called “extendable, panelized and collapsible shelter” or E-PACS.

“There’s nothing like it on the market,” said Melrose.

Compotech designed E-PACS to bridge a gap between soft-wall and rigid-wall structures, both of which have drawbacks, said Melrose. Soft-wall structures are quicker to set up and lighter, but lack energy efficiency. Rigid-wall structures are heavier and have longer setup times, but are more energy-efficient.

E-PACS are made from lightweight composite panels that are resistant to degradation by weather, the environment and UV radiation; are 40% lighter than traditional rigid wall structures; and scalable to meet mission needs, he said.

Development was aided by input from a joint team of Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps specialists.

In addition to the Army, the product is seeing demand from the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, he said.

“This funding helps us get this product off the ground and into full-rate production,” Melrose said.

15-minute setup

The product initiative began five years ago in response to the U.S. Department of Defense's interest in the development of a shelter that could be set up and broken down quickly and moved by a team of people without heavy equipment, he said.

Initial R&D funding came from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Rapid Innovation Fund.

The E-PACS can be set up in as little as 15 minutes — considerably faster than other shelters, he said.

The E-PACS expansion, supported by the MTI loan, is expected to result in more hiring.

The loan is going primarily to production molding equipment.

Up to now, the company’s shelter panels have been produced in limited quantities at a prototype level. The investment will provide for a higher rate of production and will include the installation of a walk-in paint booth with a “cure oven,” which dries and hardens finishes and composite materials, to be able to process the panels more quickly.

Much of the equipment could be installed by late this year, pending the loan award, said Melrose.

To date, Compotech has produced 25 E-PACS for the military.

More orders are expected. Altogether, the company expects strong sales for the E-PACS products over the coming years. E-PACS contracts, both existing and anticipated, represent a $47.5 million match for the MTI loan funds.

“We expect E-PACS to be a significant portion of our future portfolio,” said Melrose.