Compotech, a defense contractor based in Brewer, is one of five finalists vying for $1 million in cash prizes in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Freedom 250 Patriot Pitch Competition.

The competition spotlights small businesses that used SBA financing to innovate products, scale operations and strengthen the U.S. economy, the agency said via email.

Chosen from a field of 1,100 companies, the finalists will deliver their pitches Sept. 18 in Washington, D.C., before a live audience and a panel of celebrity judges.

“It’s been described as a cross between Shark Tank and American Idol,” said Paul Melrose, Compotech’s president. “Hopefully I don’t have to sing.”

Compotech makes the Expeditionary Shelter Protection System, a quick-setup composite fencing system that protects soldiers from blast and ballistic threats with strategically placed armored panel technology.

Developed to replace time- and labor-intensive methods such as sandbags and heavy barricades, Compotech’s system provides almost immediate protection, is 20 times lighter than an equivalent sandbag barrier, over 100 times faster to deploy and panels typically last 20 years.

Compotech also makes and is developing other products for the military, including AI software and drones, Melrose said.

Compotech is one of about 300 Maine companies that shared in $4.6 billion that the U.S. Department of Defense spent in the state in the 2024 budget year. Compotech received defense contracts totaling $40 million from 2017-2025 and a Governor’s Award for Business Excellence in 2023.

Finalists in the SBA competition will be evaluated on their ability to demonstrate sound business performance, innovation readiness, economic impact and job quality. Prizes range from $400,000 for first place to $75,000 for fifth place. 

The other finalists are Plas-Tech Tooling of Garner, Iowa; Red River of Gillette, Wyoming; VetPowered LLC, of San Diego, California; and Winton Machine, of Suwanee, Georgia.