The original development of the Kerian Speed Sizer has its roots in America’s heartland. Efficiency, easy set up and getting the job done while maintaining the high quality of the fruits and vegetables are the hallmarks of the Kerian Speed Sizer.

My grandfather, Louis Kerian, had been managing potato packing lines for many years when an idea came to him for a vegetable sizing machine to sort potatoes more efficiently. In his time, he faced many of the same challenges that the vegetable and fruit sorting industry faces today: high labor costs, high quality requirements, and customers who demand consistency. Louis Kerian had only an eighth grade education but, as I often heard growing up, my grandfather was “sharp as a tack.” That first sizer that he made for his own line, very simple in its design, dramatically lowered costs and improved efficiency. Of course, all the neighboring potato growers wanted one immediately! Shortly thereafter, my grandfather founded Kerian Machines Inc. to provide growers all over the world with the Kerian Speed Sizer, the best machine for grading by size.

My father, John Kerian, reached the opposite end of the educational spectrum. He earned his undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of Notre Dame and would go on to earn his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Missouri before returning to manage Kerian Machines.

John Kerian designed alternative features for the Kerian Sizer, allowing us to provide equipment to grade apples, beets, bulbs, jalapenos, jujubes, kiwi, macadamia nuts, mangoes, melons, mini-tubers, and many other products by size. My father also expanded the reach of Kerian Machines across the globe by developing customers in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Today, we provide the Kerian Speed Sizer to customers in over one hundred countries and all of these machines are still manufactured here in Grafton, North Dakota, in the heartland of the United States, where my grandfather first founded Kerian Machines.

After earning my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Gonzaga University in 2005, I came home to work at Kerian Machines. One of the first things my father taught me is that we are not here just to sell machines, but to solve problems. Customers do not just come to you looking to own another piece of equipment; they have a problem that needs to be solved. Our job is to understand that problem and to make it our problem so that, through customizing our equipment, we can solve it in a way that is affordable, effective and efficient. I have done my best to keep that approach in mind and to share it with everyone here at Kerian Machines.

Kerian - Cherries Sorting and Grading Machine