A MARNOO West farm machinery company has reached an important milestone, celebrating 20 years in business.
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Fourth-generation farmer Nigel Slee started Wahroonga Enterprises in 1998.
He owns the company with his wife LeAnne and parents Noel and June.
The family will celebrate the business’s 20th birthday on Wednesday.
Mr Slee said he spent some years in Canada before moving back to his hometown farm in 1996.
He said he saw his farm needed different machinery.
“After my experience in Canada, there was plenty of gear over there, it was just a matter of working out how to get it here,” he said.
Mr Slee said he started the company with windrowers and pick-up fronts.
He said one of the biggest stepping stones for the company was bringing in augers in 1999.
“On the farm we were trying to get certified for pules crops in 1998,” he said.
“We started bringing in seed treaters then – that was the very first new product we brought in.”
Wahroonga Enterprises started to bring in Highline Manufacturing machinery between 2000 and 2005.
“In 2001 we started to bring in Ag Shield super conditioners for hay, they took off,” Mr Slee said.
From there the company grew to what it is today.
“We’ve slowly progressed over time to accumulate different manufacturers,” Mr Slee said.
The company is a product distributor and dealer.
Wahroonga Enterprises specialises in shortline agricultural equipment.
Mr Slee said the company started dealing within the region but now dealt Australia wide.
“We did some ground breaking things like in 2003 we started to bring in the Highline rock pickers,” he said.
“That led us into rock rakes.
“Highline then stopped that, which led us to the S Houle rock rake, rock buckets and land levellers,” he said.
Mr Slee said the company had plodded along over the years.
“It’s a lot of work running the company – it was a six-to-seven-days-a-week venture for a long time,” he said.
“I have a passion for farming and it’s important to have good products to sell to both surrounding and Australia- wide farmers.”
Mr Slee said he would love to do more work on the family farm but the company required his full attention.
He said he owed a lot of praise to the tireless work of his staff and his family.
He said, through connections, he also brought in and houses backpackers to work throughout the year.
“It’s a good, family-rau business,” he said.
Wahroongs Enterprises travels across Australia to machinery field days to showcase its products.
“Farmers are touchy feely people and you have to have the products for them to touch and feel – it’s helpful going to each field days,” he said.
Worker and farm neighbour Tess Healy said her family had been farming in the area for a long time.
“I would say Wahroonga is very capable of helping farmers in the area with all the gear they sell,” she said.
“Nigel and the lads know the nitty gritty of all the products, so if we have a break down they can always help.”