Graybill Machines was founded by Wilbur and Orpah Graybill. Initially, the company built specialized equipment for farmers, benefitting from a patent awarded to Wilbur for a hydraulic bale tensioning system.

The success of their manufacturing business lead Wilbur & Orpah to sell their farm and focus full-time on equipment. This year also marks the first project for a food manufacturer; the project was for Oehme Bakery, a local family bakery who worked with Graybill for 60 years.

In this early bakery automation project, Graybill built a spiral cooler for cooling pies at Oehme Bakery.

Wilbur and Orpah incorporated the company as Graybill Machines, Inc., and embarked on a program to manufacture tomato harvesters that lasted until 1978, when the farm equipment portion of the business was discontinued.

David Fyock, son-in-law of Wilbur and Orpah, joined Graybill Machines full time as an owner, after having worked part-time since 1966. Short-run manufacturing of retail displays for flooring, and concrete forms for precast hog slats and median barriers filled a major part of our capacity.

This addition doubled the building size, adding machine shop and assembly space, as well as a second-floor engineering office for design of increasingly complex machines.

Another building expansion project again doubled the floor space, providing space for automated sheet metal processing and assembly of large food machinery projects.

Specialized machinery for the Building Components industry included truss plant equipment for automating the saw house, such as saw feed conveyors, lumber stackers, and sawdust handling, as well as equipment for wall panel lines.

Celebrating 50 years, Graybill Machines entered the pretzel industry with the introduction of their 84” Pretzel Extruder.

Graybill’s development of high-speed, multi-lane confectionery machinery was recognized by the President’s Award of Excellence from Hershey Foods for application of technology.

As ownership transition to the second generation was completed, a shop expansion allowed Graybill to add additional advanced CNC machining capabilities and expand the engineering office. The Dean Machine series of Process and Pie Machines suitable for heavy washdown were introduced.

Graybill’s high-speed multi-lane product handling expertise culminated in the introduction of the CFA series of feeders for product to be enrobed in chocolate, and the first Dean two-lane pie machine was installed.

Layout, design, and manufacture of a high-speed snack pie line along with finishing and decorating equipment for snack cakes allowed us to play a major role in a new bakery plant construction project, while beginning the transition to the third generation of owners.

Introduction of a new series of high-accuracy paper cup placing equipment and companion demoulding equipment for the next generation of peanut butter cup production, as well as refinement of multi-lane nut placing machinery.

Graybill’s new Dean Pie Shell Press is put into production, allowing the manufacture of pie shells without trimmings at rapid rates. Dean Pie Machines with either sheeted or pressed dough shells are now offered.

Graybill Machines celebrates 75 years of custom machinery building while augmenting its repertoire of Product Registration and Handling, Finishing Systems, and Specialized Process and Packaging Machinery.

We continue to build on our history of innovation and quality machinery as our reputation for custom-designed automation solutions spreads. Our unique insistence on studying each situation to provide customized engineered solutions continues to differentiate our company.

Graybill Machines achieves a milestone of building and selling it's 25th Center Feeder.

Graybill Machines celebrates 80 years of simplifying the food manufacturing process with dependable custom equipment.