classing20Accredited

 

classing20Accredited

 

classing20Accredited
 
Staff

General Manager

Jon Hurford

Jon began in the cotton industry as a classing room casual at Colly Cotton in Moree, NSW in 1999. In 2000 he attended the American Cotton Shipper’s Association’s International Cotton Institute in Memphis, Tennessee. During this time he also gained his Certificate in Cotton Classing from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Jon was with Colly until 2004 and joined ProClass soon after its inception and in time for its first season. Since then he has filled the role of Cotton Classer and Operations Manager, before being appointed General Manager in March 2010.

 

Operations Manager

Darren Cover

Darren began his career in the industry in 2005 as a trainee classer when he joined ProClass in its inception, just in time for the cotton season. Thriving under the guidance of our leading USDA qualified classers, Darren was sent to ICA Bremen's cotton classing school in Germany to obtain official certification in 2013. Darren was born and raised in Goondiwindi, his family having come from an agricultural background, mainly in sheep and cattle.

 

Technical Manager

Patrick McDonnell

Patrick's time in the cotton industry began when he attended the Memphis Cotton Exchange International Cotton School in 1992. He then joined the Namoi Cotton Co-op in 1993, becoming classing manager in 1995. During his time with Namoi, Patrick attended many maintenance courses with USTER technologies, the High Volume Instrument manufacturer in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he gained his extensive working knowledge of the HVI machine. He also worked internationally in Japan and the US during this time.

In 2001 he joined Wakefield Inspection Services (WIS) where he worked extensively in Australia and internationally, specifically Brazil, India, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Paraguay. WIS contracted Patrick to ProClass for the 2005 and 2006 season. Since the 2007 season, Patrick has worked directly for ProClass as well as acting as an independent contractor both domestically and internationally. In 2016 Patrick was appointed Southern Operations & Technical Manager. This role saw him head up the classing operations at ProClass’ Griffith site and manage the servicing and maintenance of the company's entire fleet of HVI machines. Since the consolidation of operations back to the main facility at Goondiwindi, the expansion of the HVI fleet and the introduction of the HVI ClassingQPro instruments, Patrick’s key role is managing the maintenance and performance of these machines. 

 

ProClass is Australia's leading fully independent cotton classing operation. We operate a large-scale modern cotton classing facility servicing Australian cotton growers and merchants. Located at Goondiwindi, Queensland, the facility is right in the heart of Australia's traditional cotton belt. At present, ProClass classes approximately 70% of the cotton produced in Australia.

Our mantra is "Professional Independent Classing" and that is exactly what we provide. This is done with the help of a team of industry professionals with long term domestic and international experience, a fleet of the most up to date cotton testing equipment (HVI machines), a state-of-the-art humidification and environment conditioning system and a pro-active, forward-thinking Board of Directors.

ProClass is a full participating member of the Cotton Classer's Association of Australia (CCAA). We are fully compliant with the CCAA's Best Management Practice for cotton classing and have been since that program's inception.

In 2016 the Goondiwindi facility was accredited under the International Cotton Association Laboratory Certification Scheme.

The ProClass service is open to all cotton growers and merchants.