A Mattapoisett-based boat storage manufacturer will soon be moving its operations to town.

Brownell Boat Stands was recently awarded a $250,000 grant from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program to assist in moving its operation to Dartmouth. 

The company doesn’t currently own the building they’re leasing, so “what [they] can do with it is limited,” said co-owner Alex Kavanaugh. 

“The design of the building is not ideal for the operation because it was built in several pieces,” Kavanaugh said. “The new building will be a long-term home that we can tailor to our operations for the foreseeable future.”

Brownell Boat Stands is a steel fabrication company that manufactures storage and handling products for boats stored on land. The company’s work can be recognized by their signature bright orange and blue stands at marinas both local and national.

The business was originally started in Mattapoisett in 1954 by Fred Brownell, who passed it on to his daughter, Linda. In 2009, Linda sold the company to Alex and Peter Kavanaugh. 

The building the company operates out of now on 5 Boat Rock Road was constructed in the 1980s.

The company has bought property on Reed Road in Dartmouth, and has just completed what Kavanaugh calls “the planning process.” Construction will begin shortly, and Kavanaugh expects the business to be able to move early in 2024. 

The grant was awarded to help Brownell cover “significant capital expenditures on a variety of fronts” that will be involved in the move to Dartmouth.

“We hope to grow the company and continue in the industry that we’re in now,” Kavanaugh said, adding that the future of the company will remain in Massachusetts.