This is the GE Silos story…

The GE Silos story begins in 1978 when Noel Comer and his brother, Brian, converted their father’s shearing shed into a workshop and began making and modifying farm equipment for the local farmers. Originally known as Comer Brothers, they quickly gained a reputation for building quality products.

Before long, Noel and Brian were approached to build a silo. Never ones to shy away from a challenge, the brothers took the project on. Theirs was an attitude of plucky optimism and despite being wholly under-equipped to build a silo from scratch, they got the job done!

The job may have involved resorting to building the silo outside because the converted shed was too small, and working from a pallet precariously perched atop a forklift, but as it would turn out, the brothers had a knack for backyard engineering, and their silo did the trick!

Before long there was another request for a silo, then another, and another... it seemed there was something in this silo-making game.

Such was the quality of those early silos, we still see them in use on farms some 40 years later!

In 1989, the brothers decided to go in their own directions. Noel wanted to focus on designing and building silos and, along with his wife Lyn, registered Goornong Engineering and continued to build quality silos for the local market.

GE Silos grew steadily as demand for their high quality silos increased. Eventually they were outgrowing their current facilities and in 1996 Noel and Lyn built a new purpose-built factory at the current location, just outside of Goornong near Bendigo in Central Victoria.

The new shed was designed predominantly for fabricating silos and this was where GE Silos was born and really started to thrive. Over the years, Noel continued to improve and introduce new products as there was always something that could be made better.

A famously talented tinkerer, Noel personally custom-built the roller machine that curves the silo wall panels into shape. You wouldn't believe it if it wasn't true: but Noel's roller machine is still in use to this very day!

Over the remainder of the 1990s GE Silos continued to go from strength to strength. The new facilities and Lyn's involvement in the business proved pivotal in enabling the business to expand the product range and increase production as the millenium drew to a close.

Noel's son Jason joined the GE Silos during this time, showing a passion for management and bringing forth new ideas that would help move the business forward.

Sadly, in May 2001 Noel passed away after a short battle with cancer. Lyn and Jason continued to grow and develop the business, including increasing the largest silo produced from 65 tonnes to a whopping 110 tonnes, which necessitated the expansion of the factory in 2007: adding a 16 metre high tower to allow for construction of these larger silos.

In 2015, Jason and his wife Carine purchased GE Silos from Lyn, taking the business into the next Comer generation.

Over the last eight years, Jason and Carine have continued to iterate and innovate, increasing overall silo production by 270% without compromising on the now-famous GE Silos quality and reliability.

And we have recently moved into producing heavy-duty fertiliser silos that required a number of major process changes to accommodate the super-thick silo walls and corrosion-resistant epoxy coatings.

The legacy lives on in 2023 and beyond

We like to think that Noel’s passion for enjoying life, being genuine, continual improvement, and always looking to help others, lives on in how we run GE Silos today. We are all so proud to be a part of a country Australian success story, and hope to pass our passion on to the next generation.