HE describes himself as an “elderly gentleman” who suffers “elder bashing” from his son.
And who wouldn’t believe Moylan Grain Silos managing director Mike Moylan?
The larrikin grin dissipates his comments but there remains some intrigue with “elder bashing”, a reference to his son, managing director-in-waiting Corey.
Succession isn’t yet complete but it definitely is a work in progress and Mike jokingly hints his son is giving him a hard time.
In truth, there is a bit of a proud dad knowing the company is in good hands as the father-son combination continues to provide old-fashioned, face-to-face contact with customers.
It’s another family business that has stood the test of time against ‘’bureaucrats, politicians and bad seasons”.
Mike finds it easy, even with an ageing mind, to remember when he started the company, because Corey was born that January, “so that would make it 1972”.
It’s actually ironic that there’s a play on age, because Mike is an active racing and rally driver, which provides a big hint as to why he started manufacturing AC Cobra replica racing cars (see breakout story).
Mike was born in England and schooled mainly in WA, where he became an apprentice plumber, achieving his plumber’s licence under the tutelage of then Merredin plumber and silo and water tank maker John Walker.
“l spent seven years there then moved to Kellerberrin where my family was and worked a bit with the Public Works Department before I got a contract with John to build water tanks,” Mike said.
“That led to me starting to build my own along with grain silos.
“In those days, water tanks were used as grain silos.
“You just cut a hole on top to put the grain in and cut two holes at the bottom with sliding doors, to bag off.
“Generally a 20 foot (six metre) auger would do the trick and the resultant bags were used to feed the combines until the Cole five-in-one bin came on the market.”
During this time the State boasted 22 silo/water tank manufacturers, each plying the trade in their local areas.
In 1975, Moylan Grain Silos exhibited at the then Dowerin Field Days.
“Our biggest silo was 1000 bushels but the mainstay model was 600 bushels,” Mike said.
“But we didn’t sell anything at Dowerin so it wasn’t looking too good as a future business.
“Then, the following year, the government introduced a 40 per cent depreciation allowance on machinery.
“So we bit the bullet and started advertising along with buying two new trucks and building a new workshop.
“l reckon the advertising helped us build the business and when we started sealing silos because of the weevil problem it became an industry norm.
“Our system was a silicate sandwich in between the seams and we also started a hydraulically-operated rivet system that revolutionised the manufacture of silos.
“That largely replaced the pop rivet system though it is still used today by some manufacturers.
“That cost us more than $1 million as opposed to a $500 rivet gun but it was a good investment because it enabled us to personally guarantee the product and either Corey or me still deliver because it’s all direct from the factory.”
Like many WA manufacturers, Mike and Corey have pushed innovation, either because of client feedback or in the case of government, safety issues.
The latter was magnified in the early 2000s by a silo accident, which according to Mike, triggered a knee-jerk response from government safety authorities.
“They wanted to mandate that anybody climbing a silo should wear a safety harness that was designed much like a bungy-jump cord,” Mike said.
“They figured if somebody fell, the recoil from the cord would prevent them from hitting the ground.
“The only trouble was most accidents occur where the upright ladder meets the angled ladder leading to the silo opening.
“On their reckoning of cord length, a fall from that height would see you hit the ground before any recoil.”
The Moylans were quick to respond with a common sense solution and the company became the first to introduce a caged ladder (circa 2002) as the ideal safety solution.
“It was designed on a vertical ladder but was later changed to a 15 degree incline after consultation with Work Safe.
It is now an industry standard.
Another innovation the Moylans promoted was a ground-operated opening of the top port, which prevented climbing to manually open the lid.
It was a principle which had been used intermittently in the industry but the Moylan promotion saw it also become an industry standard.
The company also introduced sheep feeders to the market in the mid-2000s and that product has become one of its most popular products, with three models and respective capacities of three, six and nine tonnes.
Today, as a major silo manufacturer in the WA market, the company builds a range of silos up to 75t capacity which is the preferred unit in the industry.
“lt gives farmers a lot of flexibility for various segregations and we’re seeing a big swing to on-farm storage now,” Mike said.
“Typically we have clients who will buy 10 or more units for grain storage and we have a standard aeration kit (fan optional) if they want to store the grain for long periods.”
In 2016, the company expanded it production facilities with a new factory that has the capacity to double production.
“We build year-round to meet customer demand,” Mike said.
“lf it’s a bad year we’ll stock them for the following season.”
But the silos are not left to become “elderly”.
