The Wheelchairs for Kids project has seen almost 30,000 wheelchairs sent to 74 developing countries since it was created in 1998.

Now the men behind the project, Brother Olly Pickett and Rotarian Gordon Hudson, have been nominated for an Australian of the Year award.

They have big plans to expand their workshop and send even more chairs to needy children.

In a non-descript factory in the heart of suburban Perth, 150 volunteers tinker and toil.

They are sending up to 300 World Health Organisation standard wheelchairs to needy children every month.

Mr Hudson, Wheelchairs for Kids CEO, said the demand was staggering.

"There are probably 50 million children who need wheelchairs across the world," he said.

"[Without wheelchairs] these kids would stay in the dust.

"They would not go to school, they would not play with kids their own age, and they just would not have a life."

The group has sent 6,000 chairs to Vietnam alone, but there is also strong demand from Sri Lanka, Iraq and Papua New Guinea.

If at first you don't succeed, try again

Mr Hudson's Rotary Club first became interested in making wheelchairs in 1998 after seeing a Queensland group doing it.

Initially, the group tried making the chairs in prisons and schools, but that did not work very well.

So Mr Hudson asked Brother Pickett to help out and the rest is history.

"I remember saying, 'Before long we'll be producing 50 wheelchairs a month', and Olly said, 'No way'," Mr Hudson said.

Gordon Hudson and Olly Pickett are the driving forces behind Wheelchairs for Kids. ( ABC News )

The chairs cost $150 each and are tested on specially built machines to ensure they can withstand harsh terrain and boisterous kids.

The two friends were recently named as "Local Hero" finalists in the WA Australian of the Year Awards.

Brother Pickett said seeing the impact the chairs have on children's lives kept them going.

"To see the smiles and also sometimes the tears, particularly with the mothers who can't carry the children anymore... it's very rewarding," he said.

Many of the 150 volunteers come to the wheelchair workshop for companionship - although some say their wives just want them out of the way.

"The camaraderie of the place is very good and everyone likes coming," Brother Pickett said.

"In fact we have a waiting list of 20 at the moment."

Donations lifeblood of organisation

None of the volunteers get paid and the group runs on donations from schools, businesses and the public.

Brother Pickett and Mr Hudson are hoping the nomination brings exposure and much-needed funding to their cause because more money means more chairs.

"We could quite easily make 500 a month but what we really need of course is a big benefactor," Mr Hudson said.

"We'd like a building of our own rather than having to rent."

This week the volunteers sent another container of wheelchairs to Vietnam, where the precious cargo will be distributed by humanitarian agencies.

The volunteers are already hard at work making enough chairs to fill the next one.