Trans Tasman Engineering was started by Don McPherson in 1980. Don had a wealth of experience supplying process equipment to a wide range of industries both in New Zealand and Australia. Many of Don’s original suppliers remain the company’s suppliers to this day.

Ed Franken, who started with Trans Tasman in 1996, then became the Managing Director. Ed, with a Degree in Food Technology, and ability to provide pragmatic solutions had a diverse experience of processing technology. With a passion for the Food, Dairy and Wine Industries, Ed broadened Trans Tasman’s service to successfully cater to these markets.

In May of 2023 Ed began to think about retirement and decided that he should start looking around for a suitable company to take over the various activities. Ed’s search led him to GME TradeTech, a company with which Trans Tasman Engineering had worked with when they needed parts for a crossflow filter. The company was sold and is now headed by George Manson who started GME TradeTech in 2004.

George has been working in the wine industry since 200 and has gained a vast amount of knowledge in that time with the day-to-day operations of a winery.

GME TradeTech has expertise in all areas of the industry from winery expansions and viticulture maintenance to steel and stainless fabrications and LT400 heavy transport certificates. The company is located in Blenheim, which is the largest area for grape growing and wine production in New Zealand. It focusses on servicing the wine industry with a range of services and items of equipment.

The company has an in-house design team with CAD drawing facilities, a manufacturing and repair workshop, and most importantly, they call upon and have a good working relationship with many of the wineries in the area.