JLS Automation is a family-led robotics company, founded in 1955, that today engineers hygienic packaging systems exclusively for food manufacturers. JLS designs, builds, programs, and supports its pick-and-place, case packing, cartoning, and integrated-line automation entirely in-house, holding multiple patents — all in food packaging automation.
Automation doesn't fail all at once. It fails in the small gaps. We close them before they reach your floor.
At JLS, we don't assume automation will work — we prove it. Real production is complex, and the difference isn't avoiding that complexity. It's working through it before it ever reaches your floor. In our lab, with your product, we test, refine, and close the gaps that cause systems to fail in the real world.
Our mission and guiding principles aren't marketing copy — they're what visitors notice before anyone explains them.
"JLS' mission is to become the leading supplier of automated food handling solutions for primary and secondary packaging operations in North America."
Our most important asset — we help our people grow and realize their goals.
Live by our commitments — even when it costs us.
Earned through 70+ years of showing up.
Run toward problems, not away from them.
Mistakes are owned. Fixed. Learned from. Move on.
Only when our customers win do we win.
JLS was founded in 1955 by Joseph L. Souser and has stayed family-led ever since — today under his son, CEO Craig Souser. Seventy years on, the same commitment to precision, reliability, and doing right by customers still runs the company.
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In 2025 JLS marked its 70th anniversary. We asked our team what it means to them — here are a few of their reflections.
Legacy — President & CEO Craig Souser on 70 years.
"You have to have respect. You have to have communication. And you have to have empathy. That's the culture here at JLS."
Joe GarnerVP of Operations"This company has transformed several times since 1955 — we've been doing robotic automation projects since 2002."
Mike NewcomeVP of Sales"It was a power-transmission company in the '50s, and now it's a world-leading robotics company in the food industry."
Waheed ChaudhryDirector of Primary Packaging & Integrated Systems"We can make changes to the system on the fly while it's still in production."
Phil SzymanowskiLead Systems Engineer"I wouldn't have stayed if it weren't for the people. JLS goes out of their way to hire the kind of people you actually want to work with."
Craig HafnerCTO"It's just like family here. When my wife battled cancer, I couldn't have asked for more support."
Frank WeinsteinBuyerJLS is an active member of the leading food, manufacturing, and packaging associations — staying close to the people, standards, and innovation shaping food production across every vertical we serve.
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