BIDDEFORD — It was a sad time last December for about 40 workers who learned they were being laid off with the closing of the Biddeford facility of Flotation Technologies, a company that was more than 30 years old.

But on Jan. 1, some of those same workers had cause for celebration as a new company, DeepWater Buoyancy, hired them to create some of the same synthetic foam products used in a variety of subsea operations for the oceanographic, oil and gas markets.

The company projected it would hire 15 employees by later this year or next year. Already, there are 14 full-time employees and a number of temporary employees, said company president David Capotosto. The company has been able to gear up faster than expected, he said, because it was well-received by customers.

Without DeepWater Buoyancy’s startup, “there would have been a void in the marketplace,” said Capotosto.

Flotation Technologies was founded in 1979. The former Biddeford-based company was first sold in 2008. Currently, it is owned by Cuming Corporation, an AFGlobal Company.

When he learned the company planned to shut down the Biddeford facility, to consolidate operations with a sister company and discontinue some of Flotation Technologies product line, Capotosto said, he approached AFGlobal.

Capotosto was familiar with Flotation Technologies’ products; he had worked at the company from 2000-10 and was president for his last two years there.

“I got the rights for a portion of the product line,” he said. “We incorporated in December and started up in January.”

Immediately, he said, he began contacting customers, and manufacturing and shipping out orders all while the company was moving into its 394 Hill St. home.

Capotosto speaks proudly of his product. He said it can provide buoyancy and withstand the pressures of the ocean at depths as low as 7,000 meters. The product was even used in conducting research for the movie “Titanic,” he said.

An important piece of establishing the company, said Capotosto, was getting Pine Tree Zone certification through the state.

This certification, which is available to new companies and dependent upon performance and job creation, provides 100 percent credit on corporate income tax for the first five years and 50 percent for the years six through 10. Other incentives include sales tax exemption for a period of time and a percentage of withholding tax exemption.

These incentives “are one of the tools we have to spur private investment and job creation,” said Doug Ray, a spokesman for the Department of Economic and Community Development.

In addition to creation jobs, DeepWater Buoyancy plans to invest more than $300,000 in its company this year.

Private investment and job creation are important to Maine Gov. Paul LePage, said Ray.

“We are pleased to welcome DeepWater Buoyancy to Maine,” said LePage, in a recent news release. “The company’s financial investments in our state and its commitment to providing career opportunities to Maine people are greatly appreciated. I look forward to working with DeepWater Buoyancy as they grow and thrive, and I will keep working to attract other job creators to Maine, while helping to sustain and grow the businesses that are already here.”

The new company is good for Biddeford, said Biddeford Economic Development Director Daniel Stevenson.

“I’m really pleased” that through the creation of DeepWater Buoyancy, the flotation jobs and products “found a way to stay in Biddeford,” he said.

Capotosto said the help provided by the state, both through incentives and connections to resources, is very helpful.

“We are trying to create a business here in Biddeford that is sustainable and that will not leave Biddeford,” he said. “Anything the state can do to help us keep jobs is valuable to us.”

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or [email protected].