Our Story

TCG Machines started as an idle comment made by an ex-roommate. Company founder, Graeme Gordon, had just completed an exhaustive multi-day sort of his Magic cards, and his good buddy (we'll call him Schmundy) casually remarked, "Why not design a machine to do that?" Instead of having a laugh and moving on, Graeme took this request seriously and began researching whether there was a need for such a machine. It turned out there was.

Graeme, a professional mechanical engineer, and Schmundy, a professional electrical engineer, then began producing a series of proof-of-concept prototypes. As the project looked more and more promising, Graeme founded TCG Machines and offered to partner with his friend on the venture. Foolishly, his buddy decided to take a job at some company called "Google" because it could “actually pay him money” – biggest mistake of your life, Schmundy!

Now composed of an all-star team of engineers and software developers, TCG Machines stands firmly atop a growing mountain of experience: tens of thousands of hours of product development, years of field testing, millions of cards sorted, and many happy shop owners and staff finally in control of their card business. Looking ahead, we will continue working tirelessly with local games stores to ensure our machines and software are providing them with the means they need to succeed.

Our Values

Transparency, Accountability, Kaizen (continuous improvement)

Our Purpose

We build tools to help people run profitable trading card businesses

Our Team

Graeme Gordon, P.Eng.

President & CEO

Graeme is an avid Magic player with a background in mechanical engineering and machine automation. In 2015, after taking several days to manually sort through his personal card collection, he said to himself, "Never again!", and TCG Machines was born.

Dan Kusler, P.Eng.

CPO

Dan Kusler has over 17 years of experience in Alberta’s manufacturing sector. He has built and lead diverse teams for SME firms specializing in manufacturing and automation. As TCG Machines' CPO, Dan directs development of hardware improvements and new product offerings.

Colton Paquette

VP of Technology

Colton is a computer science graduate who is interested in computer vision, deep learning, and software architecture and design. When he's not staring at a computer screen you'll find him playing MTG's Commander format, board games, or disc golf (when it's not freezing cold).

John Webster

VP of Operations

If there’s a job out there John has probably done it at some point. Bringing over 20 year of sales and IT experience, at TCG he wears a towering pillar of hats. Of late, he's pursuing a coding career, and is here to make your customer experience as smooth as possible!

Ramin Asadpour

VP of Engineering and Manufacturing

Ramin has joined the team as Mechanical Engineer, where he spends his days sketching, performing quality control, and acquiring new SolidWorks skills and techniques from working alongside the TCG design team. During his free time, he takes trips, flies drones outside, and photographs parties in the woods.

Denis Clarke

Head of Design

Denis is a Mechanical Engineering Technologist that loves to tinker, design, and troubleshoot problems whenever they may arise. When he’s not concerning himself with the PhyzBatch-9000, you can find him watching Star Wars, building Lego, or taking his dog on hikes.

Craig Carswell

Production Foreman

Craig is the production foreman at TCG, bringing to the team 20 years experience as a Heavy Duty Mechanic, Partsman and Sound Engineer. When Craig isn’t building the PhyzBatch he can be found hanging out with his son, recording bands in his studio or singing for one of his 4 bands.

Matt French

Public Relations Strategist

Matt French is an experienced Social Media Strategist and PR Practitioner with years of experience in the card and board game industry. When not assisting with operations, he's often creating marketing collateral, managing our social media channels, or chatting with the media.

Joseph Shaheen

Lead Machine Tester

Passionate about the intersection of technology and creativity, Joseph is a versatile problem solver with a keen eye for innovation. A true collaborator, Joseph thrives in team environments, fostering open communication and driving collective success.

Nathan Day

Sales & Marketing Manager

Nathan is a Digital Marketer who's worked with clients ranging from ophthalmologists to music festivals and organic skincare. He's delighted to be a part of the TCG Machines team - and that he didn't listen when he was told "playing MTG wasn't a career-building activity".

Antoine Fecteau

Demystification Wizard

Antoine has worked as a journalist and e-Learning content creator. Proficient in copyright law and technical writing, he enjoys making content for all ages. When not behind a camera, he works on his board game, or creates ridiculous Commander decks that will never see the light of day.

Cruz Miraback

Senior Full Stack Developer

Cruz enjoys tackling bugs to deliver lasting solutions. Debugging is where he has the most fun, playing detective to uncover the root cause until everything clicks. He often regrets gifting his nephew his complete Pokémon base set with 3 first editions!

Kirill Teslenko

EVP of Finance

Kirill is excited to play an integral role at TCG Machines. He brings a positive, go-getter attitude to his work, alongside a strong foundation of financial experience. Outside the office, Kirill enjoys spending time with his family and working around the house. Kirill is pursuing his CPA designation.

Ghaiyur Ahmad

Data Scientist

Ghaiyur is a Machine Learning and Data Engineer with 6 years of experience wrangling wild data and predicting the future (better than Magic 8-Balls). When not whispering SQL queries to databases, he sorts trading cards while wondering why his models can't help him draw better hands in MTG:A

Joseph Moore

Robotics Assembler

Joe Moore is a Robotics Assembler, bringing a diverse background as a computing systems engineering technologist with experience ranging from IT to pipefitting. In his free time Joe can be found writing piano compositions, practicing Jiu-Jitsu, and rock climbing.

Jesse Mahajan

Production Crew

Jesse is amazed at how technology keeps getting better, from small gadgets to big innovations—it shows where the future is heading. He loves building and taking things apart, especially computers and cameras, just to see how they work. Jesse also enjoys art, photography, the gym, and hiking.

Dan Cruz

Logistics Aficionado

A jack of all trades, Dan has experience in Sales, 3D printing, and modelling. He hopes to bring new ideas and innovations to the TCG community and through TCG Machines. Outside work, Dan enjoys spending time with family watching Star Wars and Marvel films and playing Pokémon and Star Wars TCGs.

CJ Wong

Customer Care Specialist

With a background in beverage manufacturing ops and systems mapping, CJ is all business when it comes to managing your card stock. His mission at TCG Machines is to understand your unique business needs and help you spend less time sorting, and more time being a badass business operator!

Emma Stevens

Production Muppet

Coming from a diverse journalism and project management background, Emma now specializes in user interface designs, working towards cybersecurity. She strives to one day design more interactive comic expos and immersive TCG experiences inspired by nostalgic gaming worlds.

Joshua McNabb

Sr. Full-stack Developer

Joshua first got into TCGs with Yu-Gi-Oh! as a kid and later MTG. He loves tackling technical problems, making development workflows smoother, and improving infrastructure. Off the clock, he's either hunting down the best restaurants in town or adding yet another game to his Steam backlog.

Jamie Hughes

Robotics Engineer

Hailing from the UK, Jamie is a robotics engineer specializing in electronic and embedded systems, adding cool new features to the PhyzBatch. Taking on the concept of do what you love, away from work he’s making IoT/robotics projects along with gaming or acclimatizing to the Canadian weather.

Lian Harper

Executive Administrator

With years of experience in management, customer service, and sales, Lian loves decoding how people work to help them reach their full potential. An avid traveler and enthusiastic epicure, Lian is in her element while exploring new places or seeking out her next delicious meal.

Daniel Osafo-Mensah

Production Crew

Daniel is driven by evolving technology and loves creating and exploring how things work. He’s passionate about the outdoors, fitness, and photography, always seeking new challenges and experiences.

Emily Wiebe

Production Crew

With a background in information technology and a long time Magic player, Emily is happy to be part of the team putting your PhyzBatch together. Outside of work, Emily can be found sewing, knitting, and birdwatching in the warmer months.

Vineetha Sahoo

ML Engineer

A former NVIDIA Engineer with 8+ years of experience developing robust AI systems, Vineetha specializes in designing efficient models that perform reliably in the real world. She is passionate about translating research into scalable, production-grade AI solutions.

Jacob Lansang

Junior QA Engineer

Jacob is a new graduate software engineer excited to learn and build cool things. Debugging is his cardio; video games are his fuel.

Luke Turner

Junior Sales Associate

Luke Turner is a marketing graduate who is excited to be a part of the TCGMachines team. With a background ranging from art to non profit, he is happy to have finally found a profession that lets him relive his happy childhood memories of sorting through thousands of trading cards.