Thad Unruh at Elkhorn Barns is happy to stand by his products, in them even, and largely his products stand for themselves. He and his crew build barns, sheds and a range of all purpose structures at their 600 David Eccles road location, and business is on a clear trajectory of growth.

“We have dealers that sell in The Dalles, Hermiston, Pendleton, Milton Freewater, Island City, Enterprise, Fruitland, Ontario, Vale, Weiser, Donnelly, Emmit, and soon to open in Umatilla, Conden, and Marsing,” said Unruh, drawing a wide radius on his map. “We’re going through a major expansion, maybe into Cambridge, Cascade, Caldwell, well see. Possibly Parma.”

Besides the growing business, the Unruh family also recently grew by one as of January, their fourth child, and with Thad having recently bought his brother’s half of the business, he’s busier than ever.

“I worked for John Deere since I was 19,” said Unruh, “My brother and I started this business in 2014, and a year and a half ago I bought him out.”

Unruh maintains about 10 regular workers in his production crew, contracting another 4 or 5 in the spring/summer peak months, where they’ll rotate between trussing, framing, walling and roofing for each of their unique designs. In winter working on the main construction floor is a reason to bundle up, but in summer the cool 3 foot thick cement is likely a welcome refuge from the sun.

The site itself, built in 1975, has been a host of many businesses over the decades, Unruh pointed out a few of the artifacts left behind from its days as Ellington plywood plant, including light panels and wiring chutes for machines that required massive power supply. The veneer roller and industrial dryers had a dedicated breaker room, and the adjacent building even had a crane mount and rail access.

While the prior industry was supplied by train, Unruh relies on his local transportation rigs for hauling in materials and delivering sheds, calling on such as Travis Jantz of Elkhorn Transportation Services. Part of Unruh’s production strategy is having his metals custom manufactured to spec, so for the materials shipping in there’s very little waste coming out, sawdust makes the bulk of it.

“(Our sheds are) Engineer certified, with rent to own and 90 days same as cash, and all our set up and deliveries are free within 30 miles of a dealership,” said Unruh, and with a network like his that covers a wide territory. His transportation contractors maintain a photo competition of some of the stunning locations the sheds ship through and deliver to, building up to an annual calendar.

“We build on average about 80 buildings a month,” said Unruh, he’s anticipating the summer to need almost twice as many to meet the rush, with 150 on site already. The models range from the plainest 4-wall designs to fully wired, foam insulated, color matched, and animal/child safe.

Unruh says that sales keep him busy, but it’s not uncommon for his crew to call on him for an extra hand. They produce 8’x8’ units to as large as 16’x40’ to accommodate for almost every functional need in a spare building.

If you’re in the market for an accessory barn or shed, Elkhorn Barns has on-site assembly available even for locations a truck can’t carry. You can call Thad Unruh at 541-519-2968 for options, or visit the local dealerships.