WRL Engineering Warren sealed sheds booked out after mouse plague

Family-owned business WRL Engineering specialises in designing, manufacturing and installing heavy-duty sealed grain sheds on-farm throughout NSW - and they've never been busier.

General manager Warren Lefebvre said "nothing can get in" the sealed sheds, including rodents and weevils.

READ ALSO: Central West farmers prioritise farm safety

"We have booked out every year after the drought - everyone had a mice problem but our sheds are locked up and fully sealed, so nothing really gets in," Mr Lefebvre told the Daily Liberal.

WRL Engineering has been around since 1992 but recently obtained a patent for its shed design.

The grain sheds feature multiple access doors at each end, protect against vermin, can be fumigated and host an oil bath that releases pressure in sizes from 3000 tonnes up.

"We were doing general welding and fabrication and tray bodies, tool bodies, light stuff. Through the years we've progressed through doing a lot of larger jobs and now we're doing sealed grain sheds and we have an Australia-wide patent on that for eight years and we're going for a worldwide patent as well," Ms Lefebvre said.

The business employs a host of Warren locals and Mr Lefebvre said it was important to him that he supported the local township where possible.

"We're locally-oriented, we support everything in the local area ... Wherever we can buy off local businesses, we do," he said.

READ ALSO: Merino station getaway showcases working farm life - warts and all

Mr Lefebvre likes the town of Warren for its laid-back nature and plans to keep the business on local soil, despite its growing nature.

"We're happy to be a Warren business. Our accountant has asked us many times to move to a bigger place but we are quite happy here, we have good local workers here, we have a nice big yard and a factory close to town. We like staying in Warren," he said.

"It's pretty laid back, easy going, not the rush like in a big town. All our suppliers seem to look after us out here, so I don't think it would change too much going to another centre."

The sheds are mostly sold to agricultural businesses and flour mills, large grain holders and storage facilities are increasingly buying the sheds.

Having a reputation for good quality and a name you can trust is important to Mr Lefebvre.

"I've done some big jobs, really big jobs over half a million dollars on a handshake - they don't even want a quote from me because they know me so well. It takes a while to get a reputation like that," he said.

Obtaining the patent for the shed design was "a long journey, but an enjoyable one", and Mr Lefebvre recommended anyone with an invention worth patenting should go through the process. He even offered to help any locals navigate the system.

IN OTHER NEWS

"From the start to finish from when I first originally put the patent in and spoke to a patent lawyer, the whole process took two years. The whole process was a bit of a learning curve," he said.

"If you've got something and no-one else is doing it, I'd well and truly advise, and I'd be willing to help anyone, to put them on to the right people."

When Mr Lefebvre is not building sheds, you can find him at the local golf club.

Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app here. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens.