FREEPORT – The Maine Technology Institute has awarded Freeport-based surfboard makers McDermott Shapes a $25,000 seed grant, given for advanced product design and development, in its latest round of funding.

McDermott Shapes is owned by Andy and Ryan McDermott and is Maine’s first surfboard factory. The brothers run their small operation from a small workshop on Desert Road and have plans to hire additional employees, said Andy McDermott.

“We understand Maine is not considered a hotbed of surfing, but we can make custom boards for any location,” Ryan McDermott, 25 said in a March Tri-Town Weekly profile of the business.

The brothers, who are also co-owners of the Black Point Surf Shop in Scarborough, use pre-formed polyurethane blanks or Styrofoam and fine shape the design using a variety of tools, including surforms, rasps, sanding machines and power planers. The process is completed by layering fiberglass sheets over the “deck” and applying a thermosetting resin such as polyester. This hands-on approach allows the McDermotts to tailor a board to a user’s exact specification depending on surfing style and type of waves an individual surfs in.

“Within five years, we hope to make 250 boards a year, which is realistic,” said Andy McDermott.

Maine Technology Institute is a private, nonprofit corporation created by the Legislature in 1999 that offers early-stage capital and commercialization assistance for the research and development of technologies that create new products, processes and services, and generate high-quality jobs across Maine. Seed grants of up to $25,000 are given to companies for advanced product design and development.