BANGOR DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO Michael J. Brown of Michael J. Brown Custom Builders Inc. of Millinocket works on kitchen cabinets at his small factory last year. The Town Council awarded Brown $20,000 from its Revolving Loan Fund to support his efforts to sell his products through Lowe’s.

MILLINOCKET, Maine — A $20,000 boost from the Town Council will help a local kitchen cabinet manufacturer sell its wares through one of the nation’s largest hardware and appliance chains, officials said Wednesday.

Michael J. Brown Custom Builders Inc. will use the money from the town’s Revolving Loan Fund to build cabinet displays and pay for brochures, marketing and other sales materials used by Lowe’s to sell custom-built, hand-made “green” and inset-design cabinets, co-owner Ron Preo said.

The company has sold two cabinet sets at Lowe’s Brewer location already. It wants to get agreements to sell through Lowe’s stores in Augusta, Ellsworth, Presque Isle and Thomaston, Preo said.

“We have a heck of a lot of work to do yet, but down the road, if everything works out well, this is a chance to get ourselves into a national chain,” Preo said Wednesday. “We are pleased that the council saw some merit to our marketing and they realize that there is some very serious potential for creating manufacturing jobs here.”

Lowe’s operates some 1,675 stores in the United States and Canada, is ranked 47th on the Fortune 500 list and has been recognized by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy for seven consecutive years for promoting products that meet the highest energy and efficiency standards, according to the company’s Web site.

Brown Cabinet Makers LLC creates high-end cherry, ash, maple and oak consignment and custom-built woodwork, including kitchens, cabinets and furniture — items such as dressers, entertainment centers, bookshelves and fireplace mantels. The company sells a certified “green” or environmentally-friendly product made entirely of natural or non-polluting materials, Preo said.

Councilors Jimmy Busque, Michael Madore, James Mingo and John Raymond voted in favor of granting the loan. Council Chairman Wallace Paul and Councilors David Cyr and Scott Gonya opposed. There was no discussion.

According to the council order, the company has five years to pay off the loan; will pay 5 percent annual interest; and shall offer second position on its 1009 Central Street factory and showroom in the event of a default.

Before the vote, Paul stressed that the loan fund is not funded by town taxpayers, but comes from an account set up with grants left over from a sidewalk renovation effort years ago, solely for the purpose of providing “gap financing” to companies like Brown.

“Most of the people we have loaned to have paid us back,” Paul said. “Some had problems. We have had bankruptcies, character issues.”

But the town’s Revolving Loan Committee, which consists of bankers and other volunteers familiar with financing, approved offering Brown the loan with a 4-0 vote, Paul and Madore said.

“There is no universal standard we check off ... The reality is that economic development is a gamble,” Paul said. “If a loan were a sure thing, they would not be coming to us.”

Paul called the vote without allowing for public comment, saying that he felt that critics who discussed the pending loan “frequently and negatively in local media” would use the forum to attack Brown Custom Builders or air information generally held to be private.

After the meeting, Madore and Raymond said they were sold by the company’s surviving at its former Bates Street location and its present factory since 2005 despite an extremely challenging economic environment. They also saw great potential in the Lowe’s deal.

“Getting in with Lowe’s,” Madore said, “is huge.”