B&R Controls: Why JLS Programs Everything In-House

When something goes wrong on a packaging line — a timing fault, a recipe error, a communication dropout between the case packer and the palletizer — the first question is always: whose controls are we looking at?

If your case erector runs on one PLC platform, your case packer runs on another, and your palletizer runs on a third, the answer to that question gets complicated fast. Three vendors. Three programming environments. Three support numbers. And nobody who owns the integration between them.

JLS took a different approach.

One Platform

Every JLS machine — across the Talon, Osprey, Hawk, Peregrine, Patty Hawk, Harrier, and Kestrel product families — runs on B&R Automation. One controls platform. One programming environment. One network architecture.

This isn't a recent decision or a marketing alignment. JLS selected B&R as its standard controls platform and has built every machine on it since. The choice was driven by B&R's real-time performance and its capability to handle the multi-axis motion control that food packaging robots require.

But the platform decision is only half the story. The other half — the part that matters most to customers — is that JLS programs everything in-house.

In-House Programming

Every line of code that runs a JLS machine is written by JLS controls engineers in York, Pennsylvania. The robot motion profiles, the vision system integration, the recipe management, the HMI screens, the communication protocols to upstream and downstream equipment — all programmed internally.

JLS doesn't outsource controls programming to third-party integrators. JLS doesn't use generic software packages that get configured on-site. The controls software is as purpose-built as the mechanical hardware.

This matters for three practical reasons.

1. Seamless Multi-Machine Integration

When a customer's line includes multiple JLS machines — say, a case erector, an Osprey CL case packer, and a downstream palletizer interface — all of those machines share the same B&R controls architecture and the same programming conventions.

Those machines don’t communicate through a gateway or a protocol translator. They share a network. The controls engineers who programmed them are the same team that programmed the Osprey CL. The timing, the handshakes, the fault handling — all designed as one integrated system, not two separate systems bolted together.

For the customer, this means one controls interface for the entire JLS scope. One HMI to operate. One set of diagnostic screens for troubleshooting. One recipe system that changes over the full line — case erector, case packer, and case sealer interface — from a single command.

2. Recipe-Based Changeover

JLS machines use recipe-driven changeover from the HMI. Select the new product, and the system adjusts robot motion profiles, vision system parameters, case dimensions, collation patterns, and timing across every machine on the line.

This only works because the controls are programmed in-house on a single platform. When the recipe system needs to coordinate a changeover across a case erector, a case packer, and a vision-guided robot cell, it's all running in the same programming environment, on the same network, with the same data structures.

Outsourced programming can deliver recipe-based changeover on a single machine. Coordinating recipe-based changeover across multiple machines from different vendors, on different platforms, with different programming conventions — that's where the complexity explodes and changeover times multiply.

3. JLS View Remote Support

When a JLS machine needs support, JLS controls engineers can connect remotely through JLS View — a secure remote access system built into the B&R controls platform. The same engineers who wrote the code can see the machine's live state, diagnose issues, adjust parameters, and push updates without sending a technician to the plant.

This capability exists because JLS owns the controls software. When a third-party integrator programs your machine, remote support means calling the integrator, waiting for availability, and hoping they remember the specifics of your installation. When the OEM programs the machine, remote support means connecting to software they wrote, running on hardware they specified, with full knowledge of every parameter in the system.

Why It Matters to Operations

For an operations manager or plant engineer, the controls architecture of your packaging line isn't an abstract technical decision. It determines:

• How fast you change over between products (one recipe command vs. multiple system adjustments)
• How quickly issues get resolved (one support call vs. a multi-vendor troubleshooting session)
• How well machines work together (shared platform vs. gateway-connected separate systems)
• How maintainable the system is long-term (in-house documentation and support vs. third-party dependency)

JLS's decision to standardize on B&R and program everything in-house is a decision to own the full controls scope — so customers deal with one controls partner instead of three.

[CTA: Ask JLS About Controls Integration for Your Line]

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JLS Automation designs, programs, and builds robotic packaging systems on the B&R Automation platform at its facility in York, Pennsylvania. To discuss your packaging line integration, visit [jlsautomation.com](https://www.jlsautomation.com) or call (717) 505-3800.