Friday, May 9, 2008

Flotation Technologies tapped for $5.5M contract

Officials at Flotation Technologies Inc., a developer and manufacturer of deepwater buoyancy systems, has landed a $5.5 million contract for a custom-designed buoyancy system from an unnamed international energy company.

According to Biddeford, Maine-based Flotation Technologies, the name of the client and any more detailed description of the product are confidential due to the nature of the project. The system should be delivered in the third and fourth quarters of 2008, officials said.

Last month Flotation Technologies was acquired by Houston-based Deep Down Inc. in a $23.3 million stock purchase agreement. Founded in 1979, Flotation Technologies' deepwater buoyancy systems are used primarily for marine research and the commercial and military markets. Its customers include Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Statoil.

Last May, Flotation Technologies won a $4 million contract from an unnamed source for flotation devices, and opened a 45,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Biddeford. In 2006, the company worked with the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a business development program supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, to plan the company's business strategy and work force development.