About Us

Our Story

RipeTime arose from the vision of a technology for ultra-high sensitivity and a cost-efficient measurement of fresh produce, to drive a new level of expectation in the food waste problem, a detrimental presence across the whole primary sector.

Initially a New Zealand company, Innovators Ltd, researched the science and the approach to the detection of Ethylene in the produce sector. It was through a relationship with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and an under-graduate study that lead Jon Lowy and the team at Innovators to form RipeTime.

about-computers

In October 2015, RipeTime implemented a trial in conjunction with SEEKA, one of New Zealand’s largest kiwifruit supply-chain operators. The trial was held at one of SEEKA’s cool-store environments in Te Puke, New Zealand. Two months later RipeTime passed a significant milestone; results from this trial on kiwifruit proved RipeTime technology was accurate and efficient. We were able to predict the level of ripeness across five pallets and rank them from worst to best. Our results were so significant, SEEKA applied our technology on a much larger scale for the 2016 season.

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Ripetime identified a “problem” box of 20 soft kiwifruits in a 40,000 cubic metre space within an hour of accidental arrival

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Board of directors

  • Michael Vukcevic

    Chairman

  • Adam Hunt

    Board member

  • Greg Sitters

    Board member

  • Martin Oxley

    Director

Michael Vukcevic is the Chairman of the RipeTime Board of Directors. Mr. Vukcevic has spent his career in business development and management positions. International Business Development and Governance are two areas where Mr. Vukcevic brings significant experience to the board of RipeTime. Michael has advised a number of companies on capital raising, international expansion and governance across a number of sectors and technologies. He has worked for Fonterra (New Zealand’s largest company), EY (Ernst & Young) in a Business Development position, and has lead two companies as CE. He currently advises a number of companies as an Associate at Gilligan Sheppard, New Zealand’s Premier Boutique Accounting and Advisory Firm.

Adam Hunt comes from a technology & business background, Mr. Hunt spent three years as Chief Information Officer of Turners and Growers, New Zealand’s largest produce wholesaler and pip-fruit exporter. He spent nine years leading the compliance risk functions of two of New Zealand’s key regulators (tax and financial markets) and now splits his time between multiple roles. He is a board member of the Domain Name Commission, the regulator of the Internet in New Zealand and consults in a number of risk & compliance related fields, including being a member of experts on the International Monetary Fund panel. He is also the managing director of an Equity Crowdfunding business, helping connect entrepreneurs with capital.

Greg Sitters has a distinguished business career spanning more than 40 years. Recent roles have
primarily been in venture investment, assisting with executive management, sales and
business development, and corporate and professional governance. He has worked for Sun
Microsystems and SGI across Australia and NZ, in forums in the USA and Asia, and
Sparkbox Venture Group, NZ’s leading early stage Venture Group. He has held posts on a
number of key industry forums and received many local and international business awards.
Greg has a passion for assisting and investing in disruptive technologies that address some
of the worlds major challenges.

Martin Oxley has a business career spanning more than 30 years. He is experienced in international pricing policy establishment, channel development, contract negotiation, sales and brand development. He has developed off-shore markets from scratch in Australia, USA, UK, Europe and SA. He has worked in IT since the XT PC, starting in his early 20's at Dove Electronics and Cyclone Computers. In 1995, he and four others formed Designer Technology Ltd. They designed and developed network systems and software applications for Banks, Telecos, Logistics and Manufacturing companies. Marshal Software was spun out and sold to NetIQ in 2002 for $50m. From then onward his experience has been in early stage and high growth technology companies, where he has started, advised, invested in and sold several. These include, Aptimize, Maxnet, Image Analyser, Rocket Languages, RipeTime, Arlo Software, BroadPro, One Room, Mobit Technologies, Montoux and Winnow Software.

Team

  • Jon Lowy

    Founder

  • Nathan Torkington

    Chief Information Officer

  • Dr Abdul Jabbar

    Field Research Manager

Jonathan Lowy is Founder of RipeTime. He is a serial entrepreneur who has spent a career in early stage business and has twenty-plus years’ experience in helping develop exclusive products. As an engineer and materials scientist he has been central to the creation of a range of world-leading technologies across medical, avionics, noise cancellation, marine instruments, GPS road navigation and a multitude of other areas.

Nat Torkington is Chief Information Officer of RipeTime.  Joining the company in 2016, Nat has overseen software product development, and web and data operations.  Nat’s career in technology has seen him going from building the first web site in New Zealand, to a startup Internet Service Provider in Colorado, to developing conferences for a Californian publishing empire, to building the product team at an Auckland edtech startup.

Dr Abdul Jabbar is a postharvest horticulture scientist who joined the RipeTime team in 2016 as their Field Research Manager. His expertise and interests lie in fruit quality management after harvest, predictions of storage outturn of fruit, and the understanding of physiological and technical aspects of fruit in commercial supply chains. In collaboration with Zespri and StataAFresh LTD, Dr Jabbar has spent six years conducting post-harvest research on key issues in the kiwifruit industry, whilst completing his doctoral and post-doctoral at Massey University. Prior to this, Dr Jabbar conducted and contributed to the research of industrial importance in the mango, mandarin and strawberry sector.

About Our Clients

To date, RipeTime have successfully executed early-stage trials on kiwifruit with SEEKA Kiwifruit Industries Limited, and apples with New Zealand produce giant, Turners and Growers Global Limited. Additionally, RipeTime has commenced first-stage testing on stone fruit at Melbourne based Cutrifruit, and conducted some in-house testing on New Zealand produced cherries.

RipeTime is also currently in discussions with South American produce growers, as well as various Australian and New Zealand produce companies in relation to implementing our technology in their supply chain.

Acknowledgements

As part of the RipeTime journey we have come in contact with a number of personnel and organisations that we would like to acknowledge and say thanks.

  • Seeka Kiwifruit Industries Limited — Kevin Halliday GM Post Harvest
  • T&G Global — Morgan Rogers Head of Quality & Innovation Pipfruit
  • Start Afresh — Dr David Tanner and Dr Abdul Jabber Malik
  • NZTE — Richard Barrand Auckland Office, Chile/ Taiwan offices
  • Cutrifruit — Gaethan Cutri
  • Diagnofruit —- Hector Garcia
  • AUT — Auckland University of Technology
  • Innovators
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