Since 1963, GP Graders has grown from designing belt and roller sizers for apples and stone fruit to developing and manufacturing revolutionary machinery for the fresh produce industry and fruit growers and packers around the globe. Along the way, GP Graders has hit some important milestones.
1963
GP Graders established by Geoff Payne
Re-designed belt and roller sizers for gentle handing of apples and stone fruit
1968
Introduced first multi-lane apple sizers
1969
Released low cost gooseneck bin fillers for gentle apple pre-sizing
1972
Introduced new packing systems for apples into Australia
1975
Designed tomato grading system revolutionary to the Australian industry
1977
Manufactured Australia’s first apple waxing unit
1980
Released Australia’s first mechanical weight sizer
1981
Introduced automatic tray filling of apples
Designed new automatic bin dumps into water with bin re-stacking
Designed and released a new finger belt bin filler
1983
Developed first computerized weight sizers
1988
Developed and released first cherry sizing and grading line with stepped sizing shafts
Supplied first large citrus lines with waxing and dual drying tunnels
1990
Re-invented the cluster cutter for cherry separation with grooved conveyor belt
Released a high-speed computerized weight sizer for use across all tree fruits
Introduced first color sorting machinery for the tomato industry
Supplied first high-speed rockmelon sizing and sorting machine
1993
Invented and released first mango grading and sorting machinery
Designed de-sapping system for mangoes
First citrus export machine to Thailand
1997
First cherry export machine to Italy
1998
Introduced first color sorting machinery for apples
2001
Introduced first defect grading technology for apples
2002
Began major export drive with mechanical cherry grading lines to all major cherry markets
2006
Introduced first electronic cherry grader for size and color
2011
First in the world to introduce defect technology for cherry grading machinery
2014
Won the Australian Exporter of the Year
2016
Stuart Payne inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame
2017
Introduced the first blueberry defect grader into California
2019
Launched AirJet® Vision, GP Graders developed vision technology platform
First in the world to develop shrivel / dehydration detection for blueberries