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JLS Automation celebrates 65th Anniversary

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Company’s history shows a culture of innovation and commitment to quality

This year marks a major milestone for JLS Automation. The company is celebrating its 65th anniversary and its long-standing commitment to revolutionizing industrial automation with its robotic packaging systems.

JLS Automation started as JL Souser & Associates, a manufacturers’ representative firm that sold power transmission equipment in 1955. Since taking over the company, current president and CEO Craig Souser has transformed the company into what it is today—a best-in-class, trusted supplier of hygienic robotic packaging solutions for food handling.

“Throughout our 65-year history, JLS has evolved to meet the needs of our customers every step of the way. We have grown with the food packaging industry, and will continue to innovate as the market demands new standards in quality, sanitation, and technical expertise,” said Souser.

When he first took the lead of JLS, Souser expanded the product range to include variable frequency drives and started providing application engineering assistance. In 1991, JLS provided systems engineering and shortly after introduced a field service offering to support its engineered systems. In 1993, the company entered the packaging automation segment. Since it’s custom vision-guided primary and secondary robotic packaging systems, high-speed leak detection systems and end-of-arm tooling have been awarded several patents.

Just this year, JLS launched its patent-pending Peregrine™, a vision-guided robotic cartoning system that uses a proprietary positive carton transport (PCT) system and game-changing TRAK technology. Also this year, the company developed a high-payload bulk product handling solution for transporting large cuts of protein. Both solutions were the result of customer demand and JLS’s commitment to innovative solutions for hygienic packaging applications.

“We are honored that our customers have relied on our commitment to quality equipment and dedication to providing exceptional solutions and service for 65 years,” said Souser. “We take pride in providing leading-edge robotic solutions that in turn help them to work more safely, efficiently and hygienically. JLS is what it is today because of the continued support of our customers along with our innovative culture and talented employees.”

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